Stephen Ireland may be open to Republic return

Cork has a history of controversial footballers, most notably Roy Keane of course, but our current contrarian Stephen Ireland may be open to a return to the Irish football team, at least according to his fiancée. 

Despite his travails over recent seasons, he has been in excellent form for his club side Aston Villa, playing with Irish internationals Shay Given, Robbie Keane, Robbie Keane and Ciaran Clark. 

The Cobh man’s fiancée Jessica Lawlor told the Irish Sun that she hopes he will return to the national squad and play for Ireland at the European Championships this summer. 

The Republic of Ireland’s next game is a friendly match against the Czech Republic on Wednesday 29 February. However it seems unlikely that national manager Giovanni Trapattoni will pick Stephen Ireland after other players helped Ireland to achieve qualification.

This is the strongest indication yet that Ireland may be open to a return to the squad. He has not played for his country since the infamous ‘Grannygate’ incident in 2007. 

His fiancée acknowledged that the impetus would have to come from the Irish management and Ireland himself. 

She said: “I can't answer for Stephen but if or when a phone call comes, it has to be his decision.

"He has a lot to prove when it comes to Ireland - he is a lot older and more mature now. I think he could handle it all better. In my opinion he played his best and was at his happiest with Ireland," she said.

The 25 year old's international record is a superb four goals from six appearances.