Paul McGinley bears no ill-will towards Europe's Ryder Cup skipper, Nick Faldo, over the controversial circumstances which saw the Dubliner stand down as a vice-captain for Valhalla next September.

Though there may be what he described as an agenda in sections of the media to "nail" Faldo during the upcoming months, he wants no part of it.

In speaking for the first time about problems which arose during the Seve Trophy at The Heritage last September, McGinley claimed they were largely of his own making. "It taught me that an active tournament golfer shouldn't attempt to wear two hats," he said.

It is almost a year since Faldo chose the BMW Championship at Wentworth to name McGinley and Jose-Maria Olazabal as his vice-captains for the next staging in Louisville, Kentucky in September. As it happened, McGinley's tenure, which he claimed was reluctant from the outset, lasted less than four months.

A mix-up over the mobile-phone number of Simon Dyson saw McGinley receive a late call-up into the British and Irish team only to be discarded when the young Englishman suddenly became available.

A clearly embarrassing situation for the Dubliner seemed to be reflected in his subsequent resignation as Ryder Cup vice-captain.

"I have nothing to say about the sequence of events, other than to express regret about the way the matter leaked out at the time," he said. "It's not what I would have wished in that it made me look bitter, which I wasn't. Unfortunately, I realised too late that I shouldn't have taken the job in the first place."

McGinley revealed that it was only after persistent phone-calls from Faldo over a period of a month, that he agreed to accept the honour. And when the appointment was confirmed, they were in regular contact up to the Seve Trophy.

"There was confidential stuff which will remain that way," he went on. "Like Nick's thoughts on players and other, inside information. I certainly won't be giving Paul Azinger an edge over a man I'm convinced is best equipped to keep the Ryder Cup on this side of the Atlantic. He got my vote at the players' committee."

McGinley went on: "I regret the flak that Nick took from the media after the Seve Trophy, but I thought he handled it very well. In fact, I told him so when we met during the Dunhill Links Championship the following week. He also understood my point of view and there was no attempt to get me to change my mind."

From the Dubliner's standpoint, the matter came to a head when Faldo asked him to walk around as vice-captain with the British and Irish players at The Heritage. "When I declined to do so, it gave the impression I was bitter," he said. "The truth is that I wasn't ready for such a role. I had already been involved with discussions with Nick about wild-cards when I felt like screaming 'pick me; pick me.'

"Fast-forward from there to the Ryder Cup in 12 months and I knew that in all honesty, I couldn't stand eye to eye with Nick and give him an honest assessment of other players at a cost to myself. That's what happened at the Seve Trophy. So it was time to clear the decks."

After their meeting at the Dunhill, they also spoke in Hong Kong a month later. "More than anybody that I've met in golf, Faldo is his own man," he added. "Single-mindedness is second-nature to him, so he knew exactly where I was coming from. In fact, an indication of how fully he understood my position was that his parting words were to wish me the best in my attempt at qualifying for Valhalla. We haven't spoken since."

When talking to some American scribes back in 2000 about candidates as future Ryder Cup captains, Faldo suggested: "You guys could have Robin Williams or Billy Crystal and we could have a Swedish comedian no one could understand. We'd have some fun then." After some rather nasty name-calling from Azinger last month, he will have discovered by now that there isn't much fun in aiming for a fourth successive European triumph against such a determined rival.

Indeed it is the prospect of a stern battle which strengthens McGinley's faith in the leadership of Faldo. "Believe me, the captain's record as a player really counts in the team room," he said. "I remember the feeling at Oakland Hills (2004) when we could sit back like the Manchester United players must feel, knowing that our man, Bernhard Langer, wasn't going to be outsmarted by Hal Sutton.

"It was the same with Woosie at The K Club, where he was careful not to overdo the captain bit. Rather he let things flow, which is an art in itself. And I remember him telling us in our last team talk, that we would all be playing on the opening day, because he couldn't see any weakness. That's where Woosie was great. As for Faldo: you can take it he won't be outsmarted at Valhalla. He knows this game inside out. And he knows players. He can sense whether an individual is up for it. That's what he brings to the captain's table."

McGinley's daunting quest of a fourth successive Ryder Cup appearance has been very much in evidence at Adare Manor, though the greens have not been especially kind to him. It reminded me of an exasperated comment of a few years ago, when he said: "It's not like I'm hitting bad putts. I'm hitting good putts but there's a goalkeeper in there and he's playing great."

After competing in next week's Wales Open, he will attempt to get into the US Open through the European qualifier at Walton Heath on June 2 and 3. "Torrey Pines was my home course when I was at college in San Diego," he said. "At 7,500 yards and with punishing kikuyu rough and afternoon winds off the Pacific, it has the potential to be the toughest US Open in history."

He also has to qualify for the British Open and the PGA, though his status as a current Ryder Cup player gets him into the lucrative Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone ( from July 31 to August 3).

"At this stage, a lot of baloney has been talked about the composition of next September's team," said McGinley. "People are getting way ahead of themselves. There's still a long way to go and the shape of the team will be determined by what happens during the next three months, not what has happened in the last nine, because a strong Ryder Cup team is about players in form.

"Like some of the other Irish lads, I've got to win, or finish second in a Major or another big-money event. It's about massive money. And with a £3 million prize-fund at Loch Lomond, I don't have any choice but to miss the Irish PGA at The European Club, much as I'd like to be there."

With so many hurdles to be negotiated, he is trying not to allow the Ryder Cup to dominate his thoughts. But it's there, just the same. How could things be otherwise for a player who gained the distinction of sinking a trophy-winning nine-foot putt on the 18th green at The Belfry in 2002? And who shared in the thrill of a record victory at Oakland Hills two years later. And who experienced the extraordinary warmth of being a home-town hero at The K Club in 2006.

"If the European team doesn't change dramatically over the next three months, we've got a problem," he said. "From my experience, however, it always does."

A place at Valhalla looks somewhat remote right now. But it McGinley defies the odds, he will be able to walk into the players' room with a clear mind. "In fact, I would expect to have Faldo's respect for playing my way in," he said. "And after all that's happened, that's something worth fighting for."