Sunderland winger James McClean has revealed how he was told by Giovanni Trapattoni of his inclusion in the Republic of Ireland squad for the EURO 2012 finals.
McClean made his senior international debut in the last friendly against Czech Republic, coming on as a second half substitute, and admitted he was unsure whether there would be a place for him in the 23-man panel for Poland.
The Republic of Ireland manager opted to include the former Derry City wideman, informing him of the good news directly this morning via a telephone call.
"I was lying in bed this morning when the manager rang me up," McClean, who had played for Sunderland at Fulham yesterday, explained on RTE's Monday Night Soccer (MNS) show.
"Basically, he told me (it was) congratulations because you're in the squad. It wasn't a bad wake-up call."
All in the indications for the past week pointed to a call-up for McClean, especially when Trapattoni rated his prospects of inclusion at '90-99 per cent'.
However, as he states, McClean wasn't taking anything for grant.
"It was good to hear that but in the same sense I didn't want to get carried away until squad was officially announced. In my mind, until the squad was announced, I wasn't in it but now that I am, it's the greatest feeling you could wish for."
The Foylesider now plans to use the warm-up matches in the lead-up to the European Championship opener against Croatia on June 10 to press his claims for a place in the side during the tournament.
Ireland host Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 26 in a Three international friendly and meet Hungary on June 4 in Budapest.
McClean said: "I definitely want to get as much game-time as possible. Hopefully I can make an impression on the manager when it comes to selection for the euro games. I just want to play as much minutes as possible and show what I can do."
