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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Vincent Whelan

Darren Randolph voices displeasure at being overlooked for Ireland squad but later insists he was 'just bantering'

Darren Randolph voiced his displeasure at being continually overlooked by Stephen Kenny before later claiming he was 'just bantering'.

The 34-year-old commented underneath the FAI's squad update that informed fans that Bohs no.1 James Talbot had been drafted into the setup for the friendlies against Belgium and Lithuania in place of the injured Mark Travers.

He wrote: "@FAI I haven’t retired yet. I must be too old."

Randolph was quick to comment under an FAI squad update (Instagram)

The comment drew a mixed response from Irish supporters.

While some backed him up and pointed to him being one of our best players over the Martin O'Neill and Mick McCarthy tenures, others felt it was a bit rich considering he hasn't played a minute of first-team football this season.

The West Ham stopper followed-up that initial comment a few minutes later by insisting he was only joking and didn't mean the remark in any kind of bitter way.

He added: "I’m just bantering ppl, I’m here if ever needed. If not so be it, good luck to the worldie young GKs."

In addition, he also commented: "Ah lads it’s all a bit of fun, caught loads (fishing emoji). I guess we can’t interact and have fun anymore."

He later insisted he'd only been joking (Instagram)
He felt some fans took it too seriously (Instagram)

The Wicklow native has not featured for his country since November 2020.

Between barely getting any game time for The Hammers and the emergence of a plethora of promising young Irish keepers led by Gavin Bazunu and Caoimhin Kelleher, he has seemingly been deemed surplus to requirements by Stephen Kenny as the manager has repeatedly said he is focusing on building for the future.

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