James McClean: Opposition boos only spur me on for West Brom

The 27-year-old was given abuse at former club Sunderland on Saturday in the 100th Premier League match of his career.

When he was playing for the Black Cats, the Derry-born winger's decision not to wear a poppy on his shirt out of respect for the victims of Bloody Sunday was ill-received by many locals.

It's a decision that means the Irish international ­­­­­– who switched allegiances to the Republic national team after playing for Northern Ireland's under-21s – receives boos at most Premier League grounds.

But the jeers were significantly stronger at the Stadium of Light at the weekend. McClean, however, has learned to utilise the negativity in the best possible way.

"I've got to be honest, I get booed everywhere I go now, but I try to turn that in the right way now, I try to use it as motivation," he said.

"They can boo, they can chant, they can scream this and that, but at the end of the day, they can't affect what I do on the pitch. It's noise from the stands.

"If they're booing me, it gives you that 'I want to prove you wrong' automatically. That's me as a person. You can sulk, or you say, 'I'm going to show you'.

"It's like someone telling you you can't do something, you want to be determined to show them that you can."

McClean has met up with Martin O'Neill's squad ahead of Thursday night's World Cup qualifier with Georgia at the Aviva Stadium and Sunday evening's qualifier away at Moldova.

He's enjoyed an impressive start to this season with the Baggies, and goals against Northampton Town and West Ham mean he's already matched last season's tally of two.

The fiery winger joined from Wigan Athletic for £1.5million last summer, and his relentless running was initially well-received by supporters.

However, his form tailed off towards the second half of the season and he struggled at times to hold down his first-team spot. Now though, he's eyeing up more regular football for both club and country.

"I want to become a regular not just at club level, but international level as well," he said. "I'm raring to go and hopefully this is the campaign where I finally nail down a place as a player in the first XI."