The Ex-Manchester City player Trevor Sinclair played for England at the 2002 World Cup and admits he’s love for Ireland.
If Ireland had come to me first, I definitely would have gone for Ireland. I definitely had an affiliation with Ireland. We were brought up that way,” Sinclair said.
‘There was an inquiry from Jack just before the 1994 World Cup. I’d had half a season at QPR and there was an inquiry that came in from Ireland to see if I was available for the full team. Unfortunately, that ship had sailed.
“But I’m sure if I had got that opportunity to play with the greats like Paul McGrath and Chris Hughton, I would have definitely jumped at it… You got McAteer instead!”
“We still go [to Sligo] now. My mum passed away 10 years ago and it’s something that we try and do just as a family,” Sinclair, who was born in London and grew up in Manchester, told Off the Ball back in 2017.
“We’ve got family in Boyle and we also love going to Dublin, I love the atmosphere there. I actually played against Ireland for England Under-21s.
“And I kind of thought [that I had] probably chose the wrong national team. Because after the game, we’d beaten Ireland 2-1, in the players’ lounge you’ve got aunties, uncles, cousins, grandmothers and second cousins.
“The lads actually left me behind! I was enjoying the company and talking to all the different people so much that I didn’t even realise that the team had left, the coach had gone, and the flight had left. I ended up staying in Dublin that night. Great times and I’ve always enjoyed going to Ireland.”