Anthony Stokes

After that came another blaze of negative publicity, when Marco Tardelli revealed that Stokes had pulled out of the end-of-season internationals because he was "too tired", a story that the player vehemently disputed in a Sunday newspaper interview last weekend.

Tardelli had previously voiced the sentiment that Stokes didn't work hard enough. They spoke of his unavailability as though it confirmed their belief.

While the other no-shows were included in the squad for next month's friendly with Croatia, Stokes missed the cut. Sympathy from the public was in short supply.

Friends of the player have indicated there was more to his decision to skip the Irish gathering than tiredness.

In breaking his silence, Stokes backed up that story by saying there were "one or two other things" going on, with the fall-out from his family's well-documented troubles believed to be a factor.

"I never got the chance to speak to Trapattoni," he said. "It went through the club, which was standard contact. They spoke to the FAI and discussed the situation. I've no idea where the 'too tired' phrase came from. It certainly wasn't me."

It wasn't the first time that Stokes had communication difficulties with the Irish set-up; he was publicly lambasted by Don Givens for failing to show for an U-21 game, but Keane actually shouldered the blame for that, admitting that it was Sunderland's responsibility to inform the FAI.

Sometimes, because of his reputation, Stokes has been sinned against. Sean McCaffrey, his former U-19 manager, has gone on record to say he never had any issues handling the Terenure lad.

"If you remember, after I made my senior debut, I went back and played with the U-19s a few days later. It's never mattered what age group, I love playing for Ireland," insisted Stokes last weekend.