McCarthy aiming to cement spot

James McCarthy
12 April 2012

James McCarthy has set his sights on forcing his way into the next Republic of Ireland squad after announcing his arrival on the international stage.

The 20-year-old Wigan midfielder finally cemented his status as an Ireland player when he made his first competitive appearance in Saturday night's 2-1 Euro 2012 qualifier victory over Macedonia. But that proved to be far from a token involvement with manager Giovanni Trapattoni then playing him from the start against Uruguay on Tuesday night.

McCarthy said: "It was great to get a run-out. It's a dream come true to play for your country and get some game-time under your belt."

He added: "It was a bit frustrating not getting on the ball as much as I would have liked to, but these things happen.

"They had two sitting midfield players and it was really tight in there trying to get on the ball.

"But I will take positives from it. It's my first proper start and I need to just try to kick on from it.

"It's a team game and it's all about working hard for the team and trying to get on the ball.

"It didn't happen, but hopefully I can into the squad next time and try to get some game-time under my belt again."

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