If young Jack Whelan gets his way, his old man will never retire.
At least not until they’re playing side-by-side in the same Ireland team, but as Jack is only nine, Glenn Whelan knows he’ll have to wave the white flag at some stage.
“The family, the kids, they follow me everywhere,” said the Peter Pan of the Irish squad now relishing his second coming at the grand age of 35.
“Jack plays football and to tell him I’ve got a chance to put the jersey on again, he couldn’t believe it.
“He was delighted and wants me to keep playing until he becomes a professional footballer (for Ireland) - that’s his thing.
“Even with Villa and the not being kept on, he’s asking me if I’m retiring. I’m like, ‘No’. And he says, ‘You can’t, you’re not allowed’.”
Whelan never retired from international football.
But he was no longer in Martin O’Neill’s plans well before being handed a ‘farewell’ game against Northern Ireland last November.
That came a full year after his last appearance which just happened to be the 0-0 World Cup playoff first-leg with Denmark in Copenhagen.
Now, Whelan is returning to Parken Stadium this Friday night where he’s expected to make a second successive start in this campaign.
And the small task of trying to keep Tottenham ace Christian Eriksen under wraps is likely to be his.
“I've done okay against him in the past,” said Whelan. “If I get the nod, and he's the man I look after, then I'll let him know he's in for a game.”
Whelan continued: “This is my dream, it’s what I’ve dreamt of as a kid, it’s what every kid out there dreams of - playing for your country.
“I don’t know if it’s in my blood, but it’s what I want. Even the wife and kids are on to me, ‘Are you really going to go?’, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s what I want’.
“I want to do it as long as I can and it probably got taken away from me a little bit with the last manager.
“This is a second bite of the cherry and not just do I want to play games, I want to affect games for as long as I can.”
Since taking charge, Mick McCarthy has raved about Whelan’s physical condition and insists his advancing years is not a concern.
“I’ve missed one game this year out of 50-odd. I’ve trained every day, I’m fit and healthy, I’ve not gone in and asked any manager for a rest or a break,” he said.
“In two seasons at Villa I’ve played 70-odd games. It’s never been a case of getting to a certain age and thinking of something else.
“We’ve a big game against Denmark coming around and I want to be in the team for that one.”
“Playing in Dublin at the Aviva for Ireland at any stage is great and to do it in a tournament would be unbelievable - but let's get there first.”
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