Before the last international window, Ireland boss Stephen Kenny picked out Neil Farrugia as the next LOI player most likely to be capped.
Kenny has always admired Farrugia, going back to when he selected him for Ireland's under-21s, but a series of injuries badly stalled the Shamrock Rovers winger's progress over the past two years.
Now, however, the 23-year-old is back in the Hoops team and playing his part on the European and domestic front - crucially, he scored the only goal in Monday's win over UCD.
Kenny is taking note.
"Yeah look, Stephen's always been good for me, even when I was injured," said Farrugia.
"If I look back on my 21s career, I played the first game in that (Euro 2020) under-21s campaign (against Luxembourg) and I scored and I assisted.
"And that was it for then, I was injured for the rest of it, so I made a good impact in that game!
"But I really enjoyed the 21s when I was in camp, it was a great set-up to be in.
"Being capped at senior level is always going to be a goal. Every Irish player wants that.
"But I don't want to look ahead. I'm enjoying my football and I think the reason is that I'm focusing on one game at a time. Whatever happens after that, happens."
Nevertheless, the ex-UCD starlet backs his ability to step up to international level if the chance does come.
"Oh, 100%," Farrugia stated. "If I get a good run and, touch wood, I stay injury free, that's obviously the most important thing.
"But I feel when I'm confident and not playing within myself, I think I can be dangerous.
"I'm happy, I'm enjoying my football and I think I play at my best when I'm doing that and being positive on the ball. So it's good."
Hoops boss Stephen Bradley heaped praise on Farrugia after the victory on Monday that restored his three-in-a-row chasing side's five point lead over Derry.
The Tallaght outfit are on the road to Sligo tomorrow for another important encounter before heading to Molde for Thursday's latest ECL group game.
"Look, we knew how important Monday's game was, to get three points," said Farrugia.
"In the end it got a bit nervy because we had that one goal lead. We definitely had a few more chances and myself included should have scored again.
"It's positive we're getting into those areas, now we've just got to be a bit more clinical in front of goal."
Rovers had only scored one goal in their previous three games, but Farrugia insists that stat isn't a concern.
"It's not like we scored one goal and then failed to create any more chances against UCD," he said.
"The nil-all in Tolka, it's a tough place to go, with the tight pitch, and I don't think many teams create chances there. Before that, against Finn Harps, we scored quite a few goals there.
"I don't think there's anything to be concerned about."
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