‘Every time I’m in the squad, I feel more settled’

Robbie Brady wants the Irish public to see the real him tonight on his first home start at senior level.

The Manchester United winger, now on loan at Hull City, will win his fourth Ireland cap against Greece at Lansdowne Road.

Despite flourishing at U21 level for well over a year, breaking Ireland’s scoring record along the way, Brady was made to wait for graduation by Giovanni Trapattoni until September’s friendly against Oman.

However, after making a scoring debut at Craven Cottage that night, then appearing as a late substitute against Germany and starting in the Faroe Islands, the Dubliner finally feels relaxed in the set-up.

“Stepping up to the seniors was a lot different to the U21s and club football,” admitted Brady.

“Getting into the squad was a massive deal for me, something I dreamed of from my childhood.

“I was knocking on the door for a long time so, now that I’m here, I’m still trying to get my head around it by settling down.”

Brady has added motivation to impress against the Greeks, as his last outing ended prematurely when Simon Cox replaced him at the break of the win over Faroe Islands.

Trapattoni explained to Brady afterwards that, with the game scoreless at the time, a third striker was needed on the pitch to settle the must-win game against the World Cup qualifying group bottom seeds.

He said: “Every time I’m in the Ireland squad, I feel more settled. I felt I did alright in my first three matches but now I think I’m able to let my hair down a bit.

“This is a friendly but I’ll approach the game exactly the same way as if it’s a qualifier. Greece will be tough opposition and no pushovers but I’m going out there to represent my family, friends and the whole country.”