James McClean: ‘Wearing the poppy was just never going to happen’

The former Republic of Ireland international on growing up in a community still reeling from the Troubles and the controversy that scarred his career “The perception of me is that, basically, I am a madman,” James McClean says calmly. “I’m outspoken. I’m a loudmouth. I’m very opinionated and I hate all things British. That’s from people who don’t know me. The reality is quite the opposite.

I’m pretty boring. I go training, go home and switch off. A lot of my days are quite bland, quite basic. ” McClean sounds as sane as he looks gaunt on a bleak Monday in Derry. He spent 14 years in English football and the fact that he is now at war with his own club, Derry City, can’t obscure the fact that he is the fifth-most-capped Republic of Ireland international, having played 103…