Joe Hodge: 'I want to play in the Aviva in a green jersey this season, that's my aim'

The Wolves midfielder, who is the current captain of the Ireland under-21s, has set his sights on breaking into Stephen Kenny's plans this term.

Fri, 14 Jul, 2023 - 07:39

Shane Donovan

Wolves midfielder Joe Hodge has set his sights on becoming the next Irish under-21 international to break into Stephen Kenny's Republic of Ireland senior team.

Ireland under-21 captain Hodge - English-born with a strong Irish heritage - is in no mood to hang around for such a feat either.

With an Aviva Stadium bow - albeit for his club - likely to occur later this month as Wolves take on Celtic in a pre-season friendly, Hodge is hell-bent on crossing the whitewash at the Lansdowne Road venue as part of the senior setup this season.

"Hopefully, if I get a game there (Aviva Stadium) at the end of this month, it's the first of many games I get there, that's my ambition," Hodge told the Irish Examiner from Wolves' pre-season base in Spain. "I want to play for Ireland, hopefully, I'll be playing in the Aviva in a green jersey this season, that's my aim.

"But yeah, going home for me and playing in front of a home crowd will be special and hopefully it's the first of many."

The 20-year-old has had to sit back and watch a number of his former under-21 teammates make an impact at the senior international level, but it wouldn't be out of line to say he is the frontrunner to follow in the footsteps of both Will Smallbone and Evan Ferguson.

“It’s something Jim (Crawford, under-21 manager) speaks to us a lot about, about the pathway, so many who played with the under-21s have gone on. Evan and Will were there last October, now they have gone on and won senior caps. It’s definitely something I want to do.”

There's certainly no doubt as to where Manchester-born Hodge's allegiances lie, informing us of his time spent in Dublin's inner-city, where his grandmother Bernadette Hanlen hails from.

"I qualify through my grandmother, she grew up in inner-city Dublin," he explained. "I was always there growing up, my dad feels that strong connection. My dad is Irish, I'm Irish and I always love going back.

"I spent a lot of time growing up around there. Going home, for me, going back is pretty special."

Earmarked as a special talent coming up through the ranks at Manchester City, the young midfielder took his talents to Wolves in 2021. Having played 11 times (six Premier League appearances) in somewhat of a breakout campaign last term, Hodge is hungry for more Premier League involvement.

Increased club involvement is key to his prospects of securing a senior call-up at international level.

“I want to play for Wolves. I want to become a starter, that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m dying to be part of the squad. I feel like with my performance levels, I can get in,” Hodge said.

“I want to be a big player for Wolves, I want to play every week, I want to improve and that’s my ambition. I am doing my very best to try to end up a big player here, I am focussing on that. I need to be playing football."

*Celtic v Wolverhampton Wanderers is set for the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, July 29th, with kick-off at 2pm. Tickets are now available and ticket prices start at €35 for Adults and €20 for Under-16s and can be purchased via Ticketmaster.ie.