No McCartney return to Northern setup
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George McCartney will not play again under Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington, after the Sunderland defender announced his retirement from international football via text.
When he was asked after last night's 3-0 loss to Scotland, Worthington said that the matter is now "closed" and that “if George comes to me and asks to come back the answer is ‘no".
29-year-old McCartney informed one of the Northern Ireland coaching staff of his retirement first, and Worthington says “George has tried to contact me a few times since I spoke to him on Monday morning but I haven’t accepted his calls."
“He has retired and while I am the international manager that is the end of it. That is my black and white answer." McCartney announced his retirement from international football in 2005 after falling out with then manager Lawrie Sanchez, but returned under Worthington in 2007.
The Northern Ireland manager said that he was a "glass half-full" type of person, and saw the positives despite his team's heavy loss to Scotland in the Aviva Stadium last night.
"No matter how dull or dark a defeat is, there are always positives... "You learn about your players, so it is a worthwhile exercise. "We are disappointed with the defeat and the performance but you learn, you never stop.
There were 10 players missing that would normally be in the group. That lets you see other players and I thought the younger players did very well," said the former Norwich City and Blackpool manager.
When he was asked after last night's 3-0 loss to Scotland, Worthington said that the matter is now "closed" and that “if George comes to me and asks to come back the answer is ‘no".
29-year-old McCartney informed one of the Northern Ireland coaching staff of his retirement first, and Worthington says “George has tried to contact me a few times since I spoke to him on Monday morning but I haven’t accepted his calls."
“He has retired and while I am the international manager that is the end of it. That is my black and white answer." McCartney announced his retirement from international football in 2005 after falling out with then manager Lawrie Sanchez, but returned under Worthington in 2007.
The Northern Ireland manager said that he was a "glass half-full" type of person, and saw the positives despite his team's heavy loss to Scotland in the Aviva Stadium last night.
"No matter how dull or dark a defeat is, there are always positives... "You learn about your players, so it is a worthwhile exercise. "We are disappointed with the defeat and the performance but you learn, you never stop.
There were 10 players missing that would normally be in the group. That lets you see other players and I thought the younger players did very well," said the former Norwich City and Blackpool manager.
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