Shay Given says his Aston Villa team-mate Jack Grealish has told him that he has enjoyed representing Ireland at youth level, but acknowledged that the talented teenager has a difficult choice to make about his international future.
Grealish is eligible for both Ireland and England and Given told Off The Ball: "It's going to be a difficult decision. He's played underage with Ireland and he's enjoyed it. He's said to me he's enjoyed playing with Ireland and loved coming across and stuff. But he's at a bit of a crossroads as we all know and it's hard for him to make that decision," said Given of his young team-mate.
The attacking midfielder put in a superb display as the Birmingham club beat Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final and according to Ireland's keeper, the 19-year-old's talent really shines through on the training ground.
"Some of the stuff he does in training is fantastic. He's untouchable sometimes and the lads revert to whacking him down because they can't really keep up with him," he said.
The 39-year-old also added that he had a word in Grealish's ear before kick off yesterday.
"I said to Jack before the game, 'forget where we're playing, forget about everything and the occasion and just go and play how you train,'" he said.
Thanks for all the tweets, so happy with the win. Best birthday present in the world. Role on the cup final #UTV pic.twitter.com/RQp4IBAcLS
— Shay Given (@No1shaygiven) April 19, 2015
Given was a team-mate of his current manager Tim Sherwood in the '90s and gave an insight into a person who has been under the microscope in the last 18 months.
"Tim in general is a very positive person, not just on the football pitch but away from football. He likes a laugh and a joke, but there's a time to be serious as well and when it comes to the training pitch, he's very clear about how he wants us to play," said the Donegal man.
Given also looked back on his bad memories of being dropped for the 1999 FA Cup final while at Newcastle.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
