Chiedozie Ogbene: ‘If I was at Brentford now, I wouldn’t be in the Ireland squad’

Chiedozie Ogbene: Corkman could feature for Ireland next week. Picture: Pedro Salado/Sportsfile

With a backing band to boot, Chiedozie Ogbene looked in his element when he faced the squad to deliver his Ireland initiation song.

All of Stephen Kenny’s staff and players housed in the Girona’s resort function room had known of the newcomer’s musical tastes and wanted to see him in full flight.

Expecting something contemporary from his repertoire like a rap ditty, he instead opted for a classic to please his audience of various generations. “I wanted to choose a song to ease me into it, so went for Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds,’” the Rotherham United winger reveals. “Being a karaoke night, everyone joined in and it got the room going. I just let them finish the song off and ducked out to the bathroom. It probably doesn’t come across but secretly I had those nervous butterflies. It was a nerve-racking week because this was my first time in the Ireland squad and I was trying to do everything perfectly.”

Obgene has never been afraid to venture from his comfort zone.

Leaving behind a contract offer from his hometown club Cork City for a move to struggling Limerick in early 2017 was the first evidence of his daring attitude. Brentford, whom he joined 12 months later, saw him as part of their charge towards the Premier League but he had other ideas.

Watching his former club hold his beloved Liverpool to a draw last Saturday, hours after he was in League One action, didn’t trigger any mental revisions.

“I have no regrets because I always go with my gut feeling,” the 24-year-old affirms.

“If I was at Brentford now, I wouldn’t be in the Ireland squad. I had two years to go on my contract and the manager Thomas Frank wanted me to stay but I’m used to making hard decisions. Yes, I could have been part of Brentford’s squad that get promoted, go to bigger Premier League stadiums but I wouldn’t be learning as a footballer.

“Any young player that asks me for advice, I tell them sacrifice their comfort zone.”

There was another display of conviction in his choice of declaring for Ireland last year.

During his formative years in the League of Ireland, his birthplace of Nigeria was the only destination in terms of his international intentions. That changed following a conversation with Kenny.

Ogbene was drafted into the squad for the June camp, becoming the first-ever African-born Irish international by making his debut against Hungary in a late cameo. He’s back in the frame for next Saturday’s World Cup qualifier in Azerbaijan after hamstring trouble ruled him out of the September window.

“I was agitated watching the Portugal game,” he admitted of watching Ronaldo turn the game on its head. “At Rotherham, we work a lot on closing games out, winning ugly if we it means getting the three points. We have no shame going to the corner flag. Of course, a world-class player in Cristiano Ronaldo made the difference but I was wishing I was there, taking the pressure off the team.

“I could have done that and still kept possession but it does make me more determined to try help the team against Azerbaijan.” 

That could even be in a wing-back role he’s perfected for Rotherham this season.

Wherever Ogbene is deployed, he’ll be integral to the project, once the FAI are convinced Kenny is the best man to steer the side into the next qualifying campaign, the European Championship qualifiers kicking off in 2023.

“I know what Stephen is trying to build,” enthused the man who grew up in Grange. “I’d known Stephen from his time at Dundalk and he wanted to sign me from Limerick but the training camp was my first time to work directly with him.

“The way he speaks to players and encourages them gives me a lot of hope for the future. It gives me goosebumps thinking about it.

“Stephen sees something special in players which other managers maybe don’t. That could be why myself and Jamie McGrath are selected. It’s difficult for players outside of the Premier League and Championship to get the call but Stephen judges you directly on what he sees.”

After injuries stunted his progress in last season’s Championship, Ogbene is adopting new techniques to avoid a repeat.

The hamstring issues, he insists, are a consequence of the demands from his first full season in League One. Manager Paul Warne has been conscious not to overload his flying winger.

“Maybe the recent injury was a wake-up call,” he notes. “As a wing-back, chasing up and down the flank is taxing on the body. Playing Saturday and Tuesday was too much on the body and the hamstring problem came from fatigue, not a tear.

“I’m now doing things to help my body like hot yoga. I expected to just show up and do a few stretches but it’s a lot tougher than that! Naturally, I have powerful hamstrings but the problem was flexibility. It didn’t have that elasticity.

“It’s good for my mental health too. Everything can tense up when I’m under pressure, so I like to de-stress.”

Shaped up and tuned in, ‘don’t worry, be happy’ is the message Ogbene will continue conveying in the Ireland camp upon his return tomorrow.