"Massively out of order." That's Keith Treacy's verdict on James McClean's increasingly public war with Derry City — and it's hard to argue with him.
The situation at the Brandywell has descended into something rarely seen in League of Ireland football. McClean, ruled out of the matchday squad for Derry's Conference League second-leg defeat to Rijeka, showed up at the ground wearing a baseball cap with the word 'Joker' on it — and pointed at it for photographers. He then posted on Instagram suggesting the club's problems ran deeper than player quality or effort. Then came a video attacking former Derry manager Roddy Collins, who had called him the worst signing the club had ever made.
This isn't a player airing grievances. It's a campaign.
Who's going to stop him?
Treacy, speaking on the RTÉ Soccer podcast, raised the question that matters most inside the dressing room: is there anyone with enough standing to pull McClean aside and tell him to knock it off?
"I've been in training grounds where there's been a player and a manager having it out," Treacy said. "But at least it's behind closed doors and you've got more respect for the player. Because whatever is wrong with him, he's having it out to the manager's face. He's not tweeting it for the whole world to see."
Treacy recalled being told at Burnley that any social media comment about a match would bring serious consequences. That culture doesn't seem to exist at Derry right now — and the absence of it is showing.
RTÉ analyst Paul Corry went further, saying McClean has completely undermined manager Tiernan Lynch. The irony isn't subtle: McClean signed for Lynch. He knew exactly who he was working with before he walked through the door.
Lynch may pay the price anyway
Derry sit sixth in the Premier Division. They're out of Europe. Last season's runners-up have gone backwards, and the noise around the club is drowning out whatever is actually happening on the pitch.
Corry's prediction is the most uncomfortable part of all this. McClean has 12 months left on his contract and isn't going anywhere. In situations like this, when a player carries enough personal authority, it tends to be the manager who loses his job — not the agitator. Derry's results give the board a reason to act, and McClean's presence makes it easier.
Treacy's advice was simple: if McClean isn't contributing and doesn't want to be there, move on. He cited his own decision to walk away from St Patrick's Athletic in 2016 when his body wasn't holding up. "I wasn't going to sit there and be a mercenary," he said.
McClean is a centurion for Ireland. That matters. But it doesn't buy him the right to destabilise the club he grew up supporting — and right now, that's exactly what he's doing.
- McClean wore a 'Joker' baseball cap to Derry's Conference League defeat to Rijeka and pointed at it for photographers
- He posted on Instagram suggesting issues beyond player quality or effort at the club
- A follow-up video targeted former Derry manager Roddy Collins directly
- Treacy questioned whether anyone in the dressing room has the standing to challenge him
- Corry warned Lynch could be the one who pays the price, despite being the one undermined
"It just seems like a toxic one," Treacy said. With Derry's season in freefall and McClean under contract for another year, that toxicity isn't going away soon.
