[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

One last thought from me: it didn't seem to get a mention anywhere at the time, but immediately after the national anthem fuss blew up, when McClean scored a goal in the subsequent friendly, the first person to go up to him, shake his hand and pat him on the back was Chris Brunt; a gesture which McClean reciprocated immediately. Irrespective of his personal beliefs - which we're all entitled to civilly disagree with if we wish - I'd suggest that the people best placed to judge James McClean as a person are those around him on a daily basis, and none more so than the ones who were also born and raised in Northern Ireland. When push comes to shove, I reckon they can probably tell the difference between a man filled with ideas and a man filled with hate.

Or to put it more concisely: if Chris Brunt doesn't have a problem with James McClean and James McClean doesn't have a problem with Chris Brunt, then I don't see why there's any problem at all. (Aside from him needing to screw his head on a bit tighter and develop the ability to send a cross where it's actually meant to go every now and then. But that's presumably a work in progress.)