West Ham United striker Robbie Keane was delighted to see Wigan Athletic midfielder James McCarthy make his Republic of Ireland debut in victory over Macedonia.
McCarthy was introduced as an 87th-minute replacement for skipper Keane in Saturday night's 2-1 Euro 2012 qualifier victory over Macedonia to formally confirm himself as an Ireland international and end Scotland's hopes of persuading him to change his mind.
Keane said: "He's delighted more than anyone, to be honest with you, he's delighted just to get it out of the way.
"I was speaking to him before the game and he was desperate just to stop people talking about it.
"He's an Irish player now - there was never any question about it anyway because he always wanted to be. It was other people in the background slowing things up.
"But he is happy now because he was desperate to play for us."
