Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane worked together at Nottingham Forest and with Ireland (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

'I was boss when Jack Grealish defected to England - I couldn't care less'

by · Birmingham Live

Former Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has candidly confessed that he "couldn't care less" about Jack Grealish and Declan Rice's decision to represent England internationally.

The former Aston Villa captain, Grealish, 29, who had previously played for Ireland's under-17, under-18 and under-21 teams, rejected several senior call-ups during O'Neill's tenure before pledging his allegiance to England in 2015.

Similarly, Arsenal's star player Rice, 26, also represented Ireland at youth level and even won three senior caps in 2018 before choosing to play for England the following year. Despite this, O'Neill, who managed the national team from 2013 to 2018, holds no grudges against the England duo and frankly admitted that their decisions don't bother him.

"Personally speaking, I couldn't care less," O'Neill told Jim White and Simon Jordan on talkSPORT earlier this year. "Secondly, if I did care, then I would think to myself, that Rice has chosen to play for England, what a terrible decision that's been! He's been to a couple of Euro finals and the Republic of Ireland haven't won a game."

"In fairness to Jack, Jack's father is English. At least I picked Rice for three games, he played three international matches at senior level for us. He played very well in the games."

Given that both Premier League players were born and raised in England, O'Neill conceded that they were always likely to choose to represent their birth country, despite their Irish family ties, reports the Mirror.

Ex-Celtic and Aston Villa boss expressed his thoughts on player allegiance, saying, "I would have loved for him [Rice] to have made that decision," but acknowledged both players' predictable choice: "But the decision was always going to be playing for England. Also with Jack Grealish, he played at underage level for Ireland, but if it came to it, the big decision, he was always going to pick England."

The pair faced a cold welcome at Aviva Stadium in September during the Nations League match, where England defeated Ireland 2-0, with Rice and Grealish scoring. The Arsenal midfielder showed restraint in his non-celebration as a gesture of respect, while the City winger's goal celebration was marked by exuberance.

The two teams are expected to clash once more at Wembley in their concluding Nations League group stage game.

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