Mick McCarthy says he has been leaving Matt Doherty out of his Ireland starting line-up as Seamus Coleman is his best right-back.
Captain Coleman has been the long-time incumbent but Doherty has stated his case with excellent performances for Wolves in the Premier League.
McCarthy did experiment with starting both together on the right flank in Gibraltar back in March. But it didn't have the desired effect.
Therefore, it has been a case of either/or. Off The Ball's Stephen Doyle put that conundrum to McCarthy in Limerick and the Ireland manager was unequivocal in his response.
"In my opinion, Seamus is the best right-back. I think Matt Doherty's a fabulous right-back," he said.
"Seamus is a better one"
"Unfortunately for him, I think Seamus is a better one. At this moment in time, why would I leave Seamus out? And the other thing about Seamus is he's a fabulous personality and he's captain of the team. It's just difficult."
McCarthy also played down the idea of playing Doherty as a right-winger, citing Callum Robinson's performance against Gibraltar.
"Who do you think was the best player on the pitch last night? So why not talk about him as opposed to not putting Matt Doherty in that position," he said.
"Callum Robinson's an attacker. Matt isn't an attacker. He's a right wing-back and he's a brilliant right wing-back for Wolves."
He re-emphasised that the dilemma is "unfortunate" given the quality of the options at right-back.
"I really love Matt Doherty and I signed him at Wolves. He's had a great career," he said, adding that Coleman is his "preference".
"Matt Doherty's a fabulous right-back. Unfortunately for him, I think Seamus is a better one"
Ireland manager Mick McCarthy discusses the Coleman-Doherty dilemma with @DubSoulRebel
Read here: https://t.co/YVEsRtR0N6 #COYBIG #IRLGIB pic.twitter.com/GXlH8rH5Ji
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) June 11, 2019
Mick McCarthy was speaking at the Limerick launch of the National Football Exhibition.
