DUBLIN AIRPORT issued a cheeky message to Declan Rice and Jack Grealish ahead of them touching down on Irish soil.
The pair famously represented Ireland earlier in their careers before deciding to play for England instead.
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The Airport’s social media team had that in mind while posting the above message to them before the English squad arrive in the capital.
Alongside a photo of a queue for Irish arrivals as well as a separate one for British folk, the caption read: “We’re ready for the arrival of the England team this weekend. Which way will Jack and Declan go?”
While some bitterness does remain across sections of the Irish fanbase, it’s worth remembering that they were only young teens when first asked to choose their international allegiance.
Irish football clearly needs to move away from relying on locking English-born youngsters into playing for The Boys in Green and instead develop more homegrown talent.
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And in the case of Rice, Grealish and any other aspiring footballer, being able to say you’ve played internationally at underage level does boost your prospects of latching on with the best clubs.
Assistant head coach John O’Shea said it best earlier in the week when he urged supporters to leave the whole saga concerning them in the past.
He stated: “It’s a focus on us and the players that are here and the players who want to be here. It’s as simple as that.
“Declan Rice is not here, he’s in the England squad so we can’t keep talking about it.
“You have to curb a lot of England players’ impact on the game.
“When you play a team that has just been in the Euros final, you know they have lots of threats and options to pick from.
“I think you know that whatever 11 they pick, and the squad of players they have to bring on and change games, it’s going to be full focus on our point of view to stop them but, more importantly, what we can do to cause them problems.”
He is not the only ex-Ireland player in the England camp with another of O’Shea’s former teammates, Lee Carsley, in interim charge.
O’Shea added: “I haven’t spoken to him recently.
“Obviously a few times going to different games, I’ve seen him over the years at different stages.
“I think it was my ‘A” licence, he came in and spoke on it as well.
“Look, as a team-mate and person, any time I see him I always get on well with Lee, or ‘Carso’ as he’s known. It’s a different scenario now.
“I haven’t seen him recently but I’m sure there will be a chance to catch up with him on Saturday.”
Ireland hope to be at full strength with O’Shea expecting a special occasion.
The 118-times capped legend predicted: “You know from the fans and players, everyone will know, the manager will know, coming in on the bus to the stadium, the game sold out, the atmosphere and the history around the game…
“You bring those factors together and it’s a brilliant game to be involved in.
“Every player in the squad will want to play and you want a positive outcome from it.
“But ultimately it’s a great test of where we are going and where, hopefully, we are going to get to.”
