James McClean used a post-match interview last night to criticise the Irish media’s treatment of the Republic of Ireland squad.

The Derryman was the hero in Moldova, scoring twice to help Ireland to a 3-1 victory, leaving them joint top of their World Cup qualifying table.

But when speaking to Sky Sports afterwards he suggested he didn’t know if that would be enough for some commentators.

“We got a lot of flak after the Serbia game, a lot of flak after the Georgia game,” he said. “I don’t know what it will be like tonight – unfairly so as well.

“The Irish press need to have a reality check. We are not going to blow teams away, we know that. We’ve always been a team that works hard. Winning has never been enough.

“We’re happy to get a win tonight and we’re happy to be on seven points.”

McClean praised Ireland’s fans for their loyalty and travelling support but suggested the media go too far in the opposite direction, criticising the team regardless of the outcome.

“Our fans are brilliant through thick and thin, they travel everywhere home and away,” he said. “They support us and they are amazing.”

“For some reason with the media it seems to be a no-win situation. If we play pretty football and we don’t win they say we should have won. If we don’t play pretty football and we win, they say we need to play better football. Someone tell us where there’s a win in there.”

h/t: balls.ie