Jack Taylor has told Heimir Hallgrimsson to trust him in the World Cup campaign.
The Ipswich Town attacking midfielder used the Senegal and Luxembourg friendlies to enhance his claims for a bigger role - and in different positions too.
He played off striker Adam Idah in the draw with Senegal and then came on in a deeper role against Luxembourg - and nearly won it at the death, but for the crossbar.
Taylor’s versatility is an asset and the English-born ace revealed how determined he was to seize this opportunity in Ireland’s final warm-up games before the World Cup.
"I knew there was a good chance of me starting, especially friendlies, to feed some new lads in who haven’t had the opportunity yet,” he said.
"I knew it was a big opportunity for me so I came in with a strong mindset to force myself into the manager’s mind.
"It was always the aim to be a starter. The lads did very well in the previous camps so I’ve been thinking to myself to impress with every opportunity I get.”
Taylor continued: “I can play numerous positions, I can do all of them and don’t really have a set position. I just want to get the boys playing good, fast-flowing football
“We like to sit off in a 4-4-2 formation when we are out of possession, so it is a little bit deeper, but I’m quite a versatile player.
“I can adjust to roles quite easily so I don’t mind where I’m playing as long as I’m playing and playing well, that’s all that matters.”
But Ireland boss Hallgrimsson won’t stand for another performance like Tuesday’s in Luxembourg when the qualifiers roll around in September.
Ireland play Hungary at home before travelling to Armenia but Taylor feels there were reasons for the sloppy showing in Luxembourg.
He said: “There is context to it. It was the last day of the season for all the lads, all the lads know they are going on holiday the next day, so a bit of that comes into play.
“We prepared so well coming into this camp and all the lads knew the standards weren’t where we had set them before.
“But you have to take the positives out of it. We have come away from home and got a clean sheet, but we know going forward that we have to improve.
“But we are definitely improving and we can only get better. We’ll take a lot of positives from Senegal. Everyone just has to stay fit and be in top condition for September.”
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