© Getty Images Martin O’Neill has insisted that, despite Seamus Coleman’s Mr Nice Guy persona, he didn’t think twice about making the Everton wingback the new Republic of Ireland captain.
With Robbie Keane and John O’Shea on the bench, Coleman wore the armband in the 1-0 upset of Italy and the 2-1 defeat to France in the Round of 16 at UEFA EURO 2016. Keane announced his international retirement following the tournament, prompting O’Neill to make Coleman his permanent skipper heading into 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ qualifying.
“If Seamus walked into this room here he would be very polite,” explained O’Neill. “He would be well mannered and you would think he was actually quite quiet. On the field he is totally different.
“I saw these things anyway even before he became captain. So it was no big leap of faith from my point of view making him captain. I felt he was pretty natural and he has gone and proven that.”
Coleman has – and he’s excelled while doing so. The Killybegs native was ar..
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