Will Smallbone urged Stephen Kenny to deal him in against France after a man-of-the-match display.
The playmaker had a key role in Ireland’s first two goals of a needlessly dramatic 3-2 friendly win over Latvia.
Evan Ferguson grabbed the headlines by hitting the net on his first start to become the youngest scorer since Robbie Keane.
But while the Brighton teen looks certain to start against France, Smallbone was the biggest winner on the night after emerging from the pack.
Callum O’Dowda is also vying for inclusion on Monday after a goal-scoring display, while Seamus Coleman should be available for France after sitting out with a strain.
But summing up Smallbone’s potent attacking midfield performance, Kenny said: “It gives us another option and something to think about going into France.
“I’ve been so impressed with how Will has kicked on at Stoke.
“He played well in some games earlier in the season and had good moments, but could be quiet in games too. Now he has added other aspects to his game.”
But Ireland will have to plug a lot of holes against the World Cup finalists having leaked two long range goals to Latvia.
Cruising at 2-0, the Boys in Green went in level at the break and Kenny said: “We have to accept criticism for that.”
The Ireland boss continued: “There were many aspects I was pleased with but I’ll counteract that by saying it was not a perfect performance.
“Our passing was quite good in the first-half and we had a lot of penetration in our play with Callum O’Dowda and link play with Will and Matt Doherty caused problems.
“We looked very good in periods and that’s why it was difficult to accept going in 2-2 at half-time as we had chances to go 3-0 up and didn’t take them.
“We have to accept criticism for that. Maybe we got very confident but I didn’t feel 2-2 was a reflection on our play at half-time but I’m glad to win the game.
“There are no formalities in international football. At 2-0 it looked like it would be a formality but we were not that cohesive.
“But with the introduction of the subs, we played with a lot of speed in wide areas which caused Latvia a lot of problems.”
Kenny feels Ireland are developing valuable strength in depth going into the Euros campaign with Smallbone, Ferguson and Johnston all to the fore.
He added: “it doesn’t mean we have incredible quality in all positions, all of the time but we’re improving our depth.
“It’s only Evan’s first start and he’s got a goal at 18. You can’t predict the future but he’s still learning the game."
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