Michael Obafemi's absence from the Ireland squad was the biggest storyline coming from Stephen Kenny's press conference, but Johnny Ward is more frustrated with what preceded it.
Stephen Kenny can't escape drama. Even after getting his long-term contract locked in, his first squad announced brings with it controversy.
Michael Obafemi reportedly refused to play for the Ireland under-21 team and then he was not included in the senior squad. Kenny played down Obafemi's absence, suggesting it was a fitness issue. But the Swansea striker has had too many incidents such as this one to give him the full benefit of the doubt.
He previously tweeted his displeasure at not being included in an Ireland squad. His refusal to play for the under-21 team suggests a level of entitlement.
Johnny Ward spoke about that entitlement on Football Saturday.
"On form, he definitely merits being in the team," Ward said.
"He's playing really well for Swansea...but I'm sorry. His reputation isn't necessarily that great in terms of his attitude, and if you're called up for the under-21s, you bloody well go to the under-21s. If you want, score goals against the under-21s and prove that you're good enough."
Obafemi's attitude puts Kenny in an unenviable position.
Ireland need more goalscorers. Obafemi is scoring goals. But he's also proving himself to be untrustworthy or at the very least hard work. Troy Parrott and Callum Robinson can start upfront in the absence of Adam Idah. Parrott was always ahead of Obafemi in youth teams and Robinson is Ireland's most proven international goalscorer.
Kenny will ultimately have to choose what is best for the team at large, rather than appease a talented individual.
"It's a tough one now. Yes he should be there on merit but you need to have standards as well. You can't have bad apples in your squad. There's an asterisk against Obafemi now. We had Jim Crawford on our podcast recently, he spoke about Troy Parrott. Troy's trajectory has been a little bit up and down...by all accounts he's more than happy to come straight back into the 21s.
"Obafemi through his agent saying 'I'm better than this' for me is not good. It's not a good sign about his attitude.
"I agree with him he should be in the squad, I don't agree with the way he said I'm not going to do this."
Stephen Kenny should pick this ambitious Ireland starting team
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