WHO has been the best Irish player in the Premier League this season? Sadly, this hypothetical quiz question has a deeply frustrating answer.

Robbie Keane? Sadly not. Damien Duff and Shay Given? Not with those employers. John O'Shea? You can't win awards from the bench. Richard Dunne? He was suspended for the start of the campaign, but you're getting warmer.

Playing for Man City, Dunne knows plenty about the player in question, the only real outstanding candidate, with the greatest of respect to Rory Delap's long throw.

The picture gave it away anyway. Given the amount of headlines he has commandeered over the past couple of years, Stephen Ireland is an instantly recognisable face in his homeland but across the water his stock is inexorably on the rise and many seasoned followers of English football are amazed at his weekend re-iteration that he wishes to maintain his internatinoal exile.

This season, the 22-year-old has been simply outstanding. More impressive when you consider there was a school of thought that suggested he was on his way out of Eastlands after the arrival of Mark Hughes from Blackburn in the summer.

Whispers

Amid a sea of whispers, there were two that lasted the course. The first was that the owners -- pre-Dubai takeover -- were preparing to sell Ireland and Vedran Corluka behind the manager's back, angering him so much that he was ready to walk away from his new job. The second was that Hughes himself had deemed them surplus to requirements, in order to make room for an influx of new faces.

As it happened, Corluka went to Spurs on deadline day, with Ireland's situation never in doubt with his club boss vehemently denying that selling the Cobh man was ever on the agenda.

"I was never going to allow Stevie to leave and he has repaid that faith," said Hughes last week. "I don't let players leave if I think it would weaken us and that would have been the case."

All the same, the rapid advancement of the talented midfielder this year has been greeted with a mixture of pleasure and surprise in Manchester. They've always known he possesses prodigious talent, but the question was if he could channel that into something more tangible. Hardly surprisingly, attitude has always been one of the variables that required consideration in assessing his merits.

Stuart Pearce gave him his first start, but their relationship was never quite harmonious. The arrival of Sven-Goran Eriksson -- a manager competent in dealing with idiosyncrasies because he has more than a few of his own -- brought a sympathetic voice who allowed the player to flourish.

When his two grandmothers died and rose again 12 months ago, Sven stepped in and sent the player away for counselling amid the furore that arose from his lies. Despite that setback, he appeared in 33 of their 38 Premier League games -- just once as a substitute.

That said, his form was erratic in the second part of the campaign, thus leading to the feeling that he was vulnerable to the onset of new faces in the summer. It is at this point, however, when his attitude saved the day.

Dunne may be frustrated by the player's stubbornness with relation to his country, but acknowledges that the manner in which he has responded to the challenge at club level must be applauded, particularly as such a significant factor has been spending extra time on his physical conditioning.

"He's been brilliant in the way he's handled the challenge," Dunne told the Irish Independent last week.

"With the new players coming in, particularly new midfielders coming in, he might have been under pressure but he's been holding his own and made the place in the team his.

"He's been one of the most reliable and valuable players that we've had this year and I think the manager has been very impressed by that.

"You can see that he's built himself up well, he looks stronger and physically better to be able for the demands of the midfield role in the Premier League."

Such observations tease Trapattoni and his backroom team, all conscious of how they could do with a player of such prowess.

By this stage, it is abundantly clear that they have serious concerns about the mobility of Andy Reid, reckoning that his only role could be as a second striker in a game of a particular tempo.

Back in the scoreless draw with Montenegro earlier this month, the visitors lacked a certain incisiveness from midfield. Essentially, the kind of player that they can trust to get through his workrate as well as find the killer pass or ghost into goalscoring positions.

In his brief Irish career before the issues kicked in, the Cobh youngster exhibited all the offensive attributes and holds the distinction of being the first to score a goal in his code at Croke Park in March of 2007.

Unquestionably, he has matured as a footballer since then. After that game, against Wales, he expressed unhappiness at being deployed initially on the right side of midfield and publicly stated that assertion.

There was a feeling that he lacked the engine or defensive nous to operate effectively in the centre of a four-man midfield -- and in fairness it had proved the case in the 5-2 defeat in Cyprus months earlier -- but on the right wing he felt isolated. Now, at Manchester City, he has been both effective in the centre of the park and conscious that he must accept it when asked to play on the right.

In fact, he has thrived on the right side of a more flexible formation, in addition to looking equally comfortable when slotting inside. It would be fascinating to see what role Trapattoni found for him, but it's dubious if we will ever find out.

Speaking to English journalists on Friday, he again asserted his lack of urgency to return to the international scene.

"I'll never say never, but right now I don't miss international football," he said. "I'm happy playing for the club and I've got a young family to think of. My commitment is to Manchester City and my family. I wouldn't say I hated playing for Ireland, I just feel I'm better off being away from it.

"Concentrating only on City has enabled me to play better. If you look at the fixtures, we've got a game on Sunday [at Wigan yesterday] then on Thursday [UEFA Cup], then Sunday again [Liverpool], and then it would be Ireland [v Cyprus], but instead of playing for them, I'll have a few days off with my family to get ready for the Premier League again, which is getting harder every year."

The enervating irony is that by establishing himself as a Premier League star then the most dangerous cult of Ireland -- specifically the one that exists in his head -- is going to grow ever more trenchant.

Although his public comments may sound somewhat reasoned -- it has to be pointed out that there is rarely consistency between consecutive Ireland interviews -- there were worrying murmurs about the terms and conditions he was placing upon his possible return to the international scene in discussions with those around him.

It appeared as though he held the opinion that he deserved to be treated differently. Mundane duties such as friendly internationals would be optional. With a bare medal cabinet, they were ludicrous claims.

If he suffered a minor fall from grace then perhaps his approach back would be more cap in hand but now we are in the unenviable scenario where begging for his services allows him to believe that the Irish team needs him more than he needs them.

It's a sentiment that is hard to countenance for the average Irish person, but then this young man has always been comfortable in his own bubble. He lives a life with which few can relate, living in a lavish town house on the outskirts of Manchester with the sadly departed pink-wheeled 4x4 one of his regrettable excesses.

He has gone through agents like golfers go through putters, frequently shunning advice even when it has been well intentioned. A certain amount of single mindedness is admirable, but when it veers into delusion then the lack of calm heads around is a worry.

Such delicate characters need patient treatment and while his performances for City prove that consistency is possible, when his approach to life confuses even the most pampered Irish players then you have the wonder if he will ever feel adjusted in an environment where the spirit is built on long-standing friendships.

For all of that, there has to be a grudging realisation that if he offered to come back to the Irish fold then it has to be accepted. Trapattoni appears to be of that opinion, even if he seems less positive with each bulletin.

The players, meanwhile, have fumed at his antics but are conscious of the reality that the world they live in offers little room for a moral high ground. Sometimes, selfish needs must.

"He's let us down a bit, but he'll be welcomed back once he got there," said Stephen Hunt last week. "If he doesn't want to be there then 'sod you', because we can't drag him along, but he's on fire at the moment, he's playing very well.

Welcomed

"The way Irish people are, if you give a 100pc then they're generally okay with you. So if he comes back all guns blazing then he'll be welcomed back. No doubt about it, if Ronaldo can get welcomed back to Man United after what he said and done during the summer, then Stephen Ireland can play for Ireland again."

Therein lies the rub. Much as we'd like every player to have the same desire and commitment as the likes of Hunt and Dunne when it comes to representing their country, the opulence at the upper tier of the English game means it is idealistic to wish for a starting XI rich in such valour and integrity.

Ultimately, when you strip away the emotion, winning is far more fun than losing and having a team that would make better company for a post-mortem pint.

It may rest uneasy on the palate but characters like Ronaldo and Stephen Ireland have to be tolerated, if not trusted. Celebrated, if not worshipped. Welcomed, if not popular.

They have an ability which ensures that when they knock on the door, someone will always answer. With every stirring performance Ireland produces in a Manchester City shirt, the case grows stronger for the Irish manager being unable to turn him away. The problem is that we don't know if he'll ever come calling.