It would be a “dream come true” for Dan Cleary to play for his country.
And making sure his club is still in the Scottish Premiership next season would help him along the road towards that boyhood goal.
The St Johnstone centre-back played for Ireland at every age-group from under 15 to under-21, often as captain.
One of his old club managers is overseeing a changing of the guard with the national team and players from the Scottish Premiership are being given their opportunity to impress.
Cleary has hit the ground running in the SPFL himself.
And being one of the rocks Perth top flight survival is built upon certainly won’t hurt his chances of catching Stephen Kenny’s eye.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little lad,” said the 26-year-old on the prospect of earning an Ireland call-up.
GOAL! Macedonia 1-3 Ireland. Dan Cleary header 64min #IreU17
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) October 2, 2012
“All I can do is concentrate on my club football, hopefully play week in, week out and do well.
“We’ll see where that takes me.
“It goes without saying that the better I do here, the better my chance of getting involved at international level.
“Stephen Kenny’s doing a great job with the Ireland team and I had him as a manager before (at Dundalk).
“It’s definitely a dream of mine.”
Following Robbie Keane
If Cleary does fulfil his cap ambition, he’ll be following the footsteps of the biggest name to come out of his Dublin boys’ club, Robbie Keane.
“We were both from Crumlin United,” he said.
“There are a lot of good players who have come through there. It’s a massive local club in Ireland.
“It’s well-known for producing good players. I met Robbie when I was a kid but not since then.
“Like I said, it would be a massive achievement and a dream come true if I was ever selected for the national team.”
Irish skipper Robbie Keane hits the deck in an under 12s match between Crumlin and.Cherry Orchard in Pearse park. pic.twitter.com/A4DRxi8Qfm
— Photos of Dublin (@PhotosOfDublin) February 6, 2015
Cleary and his Saints team-mates could have done without the latest international break, given it denied them the opportunity to follow up their dramatic victory against Motherwell.
But they are back on home turf to face Livingston on Saturday, determined to pick up where they left off.
“We’d rather have had a game last weekend, coming off our last minute win against Motherwell,” said Cleary.
“But everybody is still feeling good, we’ve trained well and we’ll be ready for Livingston.
“It was a massive three points for us, you can’t deny that.
“It’s in the past now, though. We need to make sure we build on it.
“We’ve shown determination in other games but that was the first time we’ve come back to win.
“That’s huge for us mentally – to know that if we go behind we can still get the result.”
Brendan Rodgers the best
Cleary, who admitted he was made to suffer back home in Dublin when he watched Rangers leave it late to beat Dundee, is putting principles learned as a Liverpool youngster under Brendan Rodgers to good use in Saints’ relegation battle.
“Hard work is what I’m based on,” he said. “Talent is a massive part but hard work is number one.
“When I trained with the (Liverpool) first team even if you weren’t having a great day with the ball you still needed to work hard.
“Brendan was unbelievable. He is great with the young lads and is probably the best manager I’ve worked with.
“It wasn’t all rosy.
“He would tell you when you were wrong, where you needed to improve and stuff like that.
“He told me the year before I was in and around the first team that I wouldn’t be near it because I wasn’t good enough.
“He gave me a few things to work on and then my performances improved massively.
“He then rewarded me by taking me on the pre-season tour and on the bench for the Europa League.”
Scottish standards
Scottish football has been to Cleary’s liking.
“It’s definitely lived up to expectations,” he said.
“It’s a high standard – physical, demanding and you never get an easy game.
“At Dundalk, I was always at the other end of the table pushing for the league, cups and Champions League qualification.
“At this end there is a lot more pressure. I am always learning.
“I love a challenge and never shy away from it. That’s why I signed and I’m ready to fight until the end.”
