McClean - I've had an incredible few months

After much speculation former Derry City winger James McClean has been included in Giovanni Trappatoni’s Irish squad for this summer’s European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

McClean left Derry in August 2011 to sign for then Sunderland manager Steve Bruce and made his league debut for the club shortly after Martin O’Neill took over the managerial reins in December of that year. He has since gone on to take the Premier League by storm, cementing a place in O’Neill’s starting eleven and scoring six goals in 28 appearances for the Black Cats.

Having previously played for Northern Ireland at under-age level, McClean received clearance to play for the Republic early this year and made his international debut as a substitute in the friendly game against the Czech Republic at the Aviva Stadium on 29th February.

Speaking to Sunderland’s official club website, safc.com, McClean said, "I took call from Mr. Trappatoni this morning; it certainly wasn't a bad wake up call to get! It's been a fantastic year for me in football terms. Breaking into the Sunderland first-team was a huge step and then to make my debut for Ireland was just amazing. I've had an incredible few months... To now be representing Ireland at a major championship is simply the stuff that dreams are made of."

View the full Republic of Ireland squad list