McClean set for early Republic link-up

James McClean will join up with the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2012 squad early to undergo a crash course in international football.

The 23-year-old Sunderland winger's dream season reached new heights when he was named in Giovanni Trapattoni's 23-man party despite having played only a few minutes of senior international football.

But while most of his Barclays Premier League colleagues will not meet up in Dublin until May 20, McClean will arrive three days earlier along with players from the npower Championship to work with Trapattoni and assistant Marco Tardelli.

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