'He just said in the dressing room, I've created a bit of a stir'

The 42

4 days ago

IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Kasey McAteer was in buoyant form after producing a man-of-the-match performance in Ireland's 1-1 draw with Senegal.
The Leicester star opened the scoring in the 21st minute — McAteer fired home from close range after his initial header had been saved by the opposition goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf.
It was the 23-year-old's full Ireland debut and fifth cap in total.
'I know at my best, I can hurt teams, and I tried to do that tonight,' McAteer told reporters on Friday. 'I got some good balls down the side.
'[The coaches' message was:] 'Play your game, get at your defender and try and create chances.' I felt that when I got the ball, I tried to do that as much as possible.'
The post-match interview was delayed with McAteer receiving some treatment after the game, but the winger said he would be ready to go for Ireland's friendly with Luxembourg on Tuesday.
'When you haven't played a game in two weeks, you can feel it. It might not seem like a long time, but as a player, when you play and train every day, that little break can take it out of you.'
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The special occasion was a welcome boost for McAteer after a frustrating season.
He was part of a Leicester City team that were relegated from the Premier League.
Demotion to the Championship tends to create uncertainty within a squad, but McAteer believes his long-term future is with the Foxes.
'I've been at Leicester since I was eight years old, so I'd never turn my back on the club. It's a club where I've grown, I've loved, and I've supported.
'I'll get away in the summer, get a holiday, refresh, regroup and start pre-season for Leicester, fighting to get us back into the Premier League, where we deserve to be.'
It was also a challenging season for McAteer on a personal level. Of his 18 Premier League appearances, only nine were starts. Although he finished strongly, playing the last four consecutive matches of the campaign from the outset.
'I'd not been in my club side for a few weeks, but recently I have been given the chance to play and I feel like I've grown every week.
'There are a lot of senior players at Leicester, and I respect that. Being home-grown, sometimes it's easy to overlook players like myself, but I've never stopped fighting. I've kept banging down the door to get into the team.
'I got in the team, my first Premier League goal [in a 2-0 win over Ipswich] and a few good results. It wasn't enough because we were already relegated, but I can personally look back with a lot of pride.'
And McAteer's better fortune at club level has led to increased involvement on the international stage.
He had been left out of previous squads, but was determined to get back on track.
'It was explained to me that it's because I'm not playing at my club that the boys who are playing for their club every weekend — they deserve to play for their country. And I understand that.
'I didn't take it well, I wanted to be here. I want to play as many games as I can, but hopefully I've started putting my stamp on games, coming in and getting on that score sheet, that's the most important thing for myself.'
While some may have doubted McAteer, Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson had faith in the player even during the bad times.
'I've regular contact with him, not just when squads are being announced, but when I'm not playing, when I am playing, to see how I'm doing and stuff. And that's really good to get from a manager who's obviously behind me wanting to do well.
'And he just said in the dressing room, I've created a bit of a stir.
'You want your name to be thrown about in conversations around team selections. I wanted to create a ruffle. Hopefully I've done that.'