Sammie Szmodics aiming to bring Ipswich Town form into international arena with Ireland
Sammie Szmodics was top scorer in the Championship last season with Blackburn Rovers.
Sammie Szmodics won so many man of the match awards last season that his house ended up stinking of champagne.
The upshot was the Ireland striker then got the move he always dreamed of, landing a Premier League contract at the grand old age of 29.
Now 11 games and three goals later, he has another bottle of bubbly to store in his cellar, following Sunday’s winner for Ipswich away to Tottenham.
Read more: Matt Doherty's Ireland recall was a 'straightforward decision', says John O'Shea
Read more: Ireland legend offers FAI Cup congratulations to Drogheda United
Yet he feels he’s only getting started.
Colchester United; Braintree Town; Bristol City; Peterborough United; Blackburn Rovers.
They are the sort of names you expect to see on FA Cup third round day.
No glitz. No glamour.
Yet those are the clubs that employed Szmodics and made him; that long apprenticeship served in the lower leagues of England making him hungry to deliver for club and country.
Szmodics says: “It has been a journey. The Ipswich manager Kieran (McKenna) says a lot about how we have all come from lower leagues, League Two, League One.
"I deserve to be in the Premier League.
“And I have loved every cap I have won for Ireland. I want to add more.
“Okay, I have yet to score in any of my eight caps but my confidence is high. I’ve scored three for Ipswich. As a squad we have our first win. There is confidence in our squad. We want to bring that confidence across to Ireland.”
They need to because Irish football has remained in a seven year slump ever since Christian Eriksson’s hat-trick for Denmark against Martin O’Neill’s Ireland in the 2018 World Cup play-off.
The years since have been grim: competitive wins limited to Gibraltar, Finland, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Scotland and Luxembourg.
Along the way there have been harrowing defeats - Luxembourg, Greece (four times), Armenia - and predictable ones: France twice, Holland twice, England once.
But glimmers of hope have also been apparent and Szmodics is convinced a consistent breakthrough is near.
He said: “At a meeting this morning we touched on starting the game as well as we finish it. Not going a goal down before we start doing our bits. If that's a mental side of things or a togetherness side of things, we need to come up with an answer to that quickly and start playing games on a positive foot.
“It’s the little things that change the confidence within a team, things like winning the first tackle, winning your duels. We’re finding those little percentages to help you step on, or kick on, whether that be a tackle, a header. These things all add up in a game of football.
“We are really close to getting to where we want to get to. Apart from the result against Greece, there were some really good parts in the second half. We’re not far away from clicking. It was a good win against Finland. We’ve got the big one against England at Wembley to look forward to, but all focus is on Thursday night. It’s a team we can beat at the Aviva.
“We’ve got to get up for it from minute one. If it’s a mental side of things, there is a way of overcoming that, which we can do as a group. We’re all aware of what we need to do.”
Sticking to your guns; fighting for the cause; winning the little battles.
They are the kind of mottos that you find in a self-help book.
But when you dig a little deeper and realise that most of this Irish squad are players who came up the hard way, overcoming rejection, showing resilience, refusing to give up on their dreams, then you appreciate what those words of Szmodics aren’t cheap but wise.
“Look at my story,” he says, “it has been a bit of a journey from Colchester in League Two to the Premier League but it was something I believed I could do.
“I want to bring that belief into the Ireland squad. Yes, I’m waiting for that Irish goal, that first one. Once I get the one, and the confidence in front of goal, I’ll continue to get them and hopefully cement a place in the starting XI.
“That would be the icing on the cake after the year I have had. I’ve worked so hard to get to the Premier League. To make my debut for Ireland meant everything for me and my family. To get that first international goal would be very special.”
Ireland coach, John O’Shea, adds: “Sammie is the perfect example of what you need from a footballer. The first time I saw him play, it was a case of getting him over to Ireland and getting him that green shirt as quickly as possible because his story is a classic example of what sacrifice and dedication can do for your career in football. I’m sure that first goal in a green shirt is not far away.”
Can it come on Thursday?
If it does it will be the ideal way to Finnish an unforgettable year.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
