Derry City interim boss Mark Connolly steers clear of speculation over James McClean’s future at club

Derry City interim boss Mark Connolly refused to get embroiled in mounting speculation over James McClean’s future other than to state the winger remains employed by the Brandywell club.Reports suggesting the 37-year-old former Ireland international had his contract terminated by the club on medical grounds gathered pace over the past 48 hours.Both the club and player remained tight-lipped on the matter and despite speculation that the Creggan man had been given his marching orders, he arrived at the Brandywell on Tuesday morning to take part in the open training session staged as part of the Féile Derry 2026 celebrations.The 103-times capped McClean happily posed for photographs and signed autographs for some of the 1,200 fans who turned out.READ MOREMcClean also took part in training at Derry’s Owenbeg base on Wednesday morning and Connolly was quick to brush off the controversy.“It’s been manic. There’s been a lot of noise, but ultimately I’m a football person and I deal with the football side of things,” said Connolly when quizzed on the situation.“There isn’t too much to comment on. James is obviously still a Derry City player. There’s been a lot of noise with it all and ultimately my focus is just stepping in, which, as you can imagine, has been a mad week. My full focus has been on the footballing side.”Asked if there was any truth in rumours the club has offered McClean a settlement, Connolly responded: “It was interesting to see the speculation on him turning up for training. James is a Derry player. Ultimately he has trained sometimes and not trained sometimes due to his age but yeah, James McClean is a Derry City player and that’s really it moving forward.”James McClean has played in 19 fixtures in all competitions this season. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho It’s been claimed Derry City have since backtracked on their plan to dismiss the player on medical grounds due to a chronic hip injury, but Connolly wasn’t prepared to discuss the player’s fitness.“That’s something I won’t be commenting on,” he said bluntly. “Ultimately I’m not 100 per cent sure about all the ins and outs. The biggest thing for me is that I’ve come into a situation at the club taking over the team, and that’s my main focus – making sure to provide as much information to the players as I can to get as many points and try and progress in the cup.”When pressed on whether or not he has talked with the player regarding the situation, the Monaghan man added: “I had a chat with James yesterday but that’s obviously between James and myself. I’m just focusing on the football.“Like I said James is a Derry City player. He’s one of 20-odd players. They’re all Derry City players and that’s how it will be moving forward.”Derry City travel to the Belfield Bowl for a Club Orange FAI Cup second-round clash with UCD on Friday night but Connolly refused to reveal whether McClean would be involved in the game.The Creggan man has played just 19 fixtures in all competitions this season, with his last start coming against Tolka Rovers in the previous round of the cup on July 19th.“Again that’s something I’ll not be commenting on to be honest with you. I’m just trying to focus on the training that’s happened. I don’t know what will happen on Friday regarding team selection and stuff. “We had a training session today going through stuff. We will have a training session tomorrow and then we will decide what we’re going to do on Friday, but that’s my full focus.”