SEAMUS COLEMAN says keeping his place in the Everton team is his priority over the lure of international football.
The 22-year-old made the tough decision to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland squad for last month’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia with an injured ankle.
Coleman insists he was unwilling to risk a lengthy lay-off by remaining with Giovanni Trapattoni's squad, even though he was desperate to win his first senior cap.
The PFA young player of the year nominee nevertheless had to miss Everton’s games against Aston Villa and Wolves and wants to make up for lost time by helping Everton to a rare victory at Old Trafford tomorrow.
He said: “I didn’t want to leave the Ireland camp at all, I was desperate to stay but I knew it wasn’t right.
“I’d be the type of player if I was maybe 70 or 80% fit I would try to play, but it just wasn’t right and I had to be honest.
“At the end of the day Everton is the most important thing to me. They pay my wages and I had to come back and get on with it.
“It’s natural to worry about losing your place while you’re out.
“That’s the way football is though, I got in because someone was injured. We’ve got a good squad here and you know people can always come in and jostle for positions.”
Coleman is now fully fit and hoping to reclaim his place in David Moyes’ side for the visit to Old Trafford, with Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill both facing fitness tests.
And Cahill is feeling optimistic about Everton’s bid to steal sixth place from city rivals Liverpool.
He said: “We're two points behind Liverpool – they've just spent £75million, excluding wages, in this January window.
“So yes, this season has been disappointing and hard to take, but every year we've got something out of what we have.”
Cahill has not featured for the Blues since a substitute appearance in the 2-0 win over Sunderland back in February but is nearing a return to full fitness.
“The fitness is actually going quite well,” he said. “I've had a foot problem since after the Asia Cup. But hopefully I'll be back in the next couple of weeks with Mikel and a couple of the other lads to help fly the flag again.”
