Stephen Ireland looks sure to be in Manchester City's squad for
Saturday's trip to Fulham despite posting a bizarre message on the
internet questioning his desire to play football.
City officials are paying little attention to a statement by
Ireland on the Bebo social networking website under the name 'Daddy
Dick', in which he claimed "football is sh*t" and asked "why did I
get stuck doin(g) it".
Coming so soon after he was branded "stupid" by his manager
Sven-Goran Eriksson over erroneous claims that first one, then the
other of his grandmothers had died, as he attempted to remove
himself from Republic of Ireland duty last week when, in fact, his
girlfriend has suffered a miscarriage, the latest statement has
raised more concerns about Ireland.
It has been reported Ireland has been advised to seek psychological
advice by Eriksson. But senior figures within the Blues hierarchy
have stressed this is not the same type of counselling Joey Barton
was forced to undergo during his time with the Eastlands
outfit.
Indeed, Ireland has been at City's Carrington training complex all
week and, after sitting out Sunday's win over Aston Villa, is
expected to earn a recall to Eriksson's squad at Craven
Cottage.