Considering the impact he has made over the last couple of years, it is easy to forget that Jason Knight only turned 20-years old last month.
The Cabinteely native has made a remarkable impact at Derby County over the last couple of seasons, racking up a hugely impressive 68 appearances in the Championship since August 2019. Few Irish players can match that tally and it was always only a matter of time until he made his way into the international fold.
Knight has impressed during his four appearances in a green jersey up to this point, being one of the few players to emerge with much credit from the game against Luxembourg on Saturday night.
Defeat in that fixture means we are now ten games into the Stephen Kenny era without a win, with questions starting to be asked about the changes he is implementing in the team.
However, Jason Knight believes that Ireland are moving in the right direction even if results have yet to arrive as a result:
I think we can see as players that he is trying to implement an attractive style of play for the senior international team. That's going to take time, like anything does. We're really behind the manager at the moment and it is looking good so far, obviously not the results but we can see we're going to the right place...
It's down to us to want the ball, move the ball quickly, and show for each other. That's just something we've got to fix internally as players...
I think we've got some really, really talented players and some really good footballers. I don't think that's true at all. We can play a rally good footballing system, we're just trying to bed that in...
It's a results driven business and that's ultimately what matters. But you want to put good performances in as well and we're trying to blend it and get the right results.
It must be said that it seems as though the majority of Irish football fans remain behind Stephen Kenny despite the difficult start to his tenure.
He has likely earned himself some extra patience with his willingness to blood young players, bringing through a number of players from his U21 side.
All those in the Ireland squad are backing the manager, with Knight saying that the youngsters he has brought through must now repay that faith with performances on the pitch.
Us young lads coming through need to step up now because this is the international stage and you're here for a reason. It's down to us to perform when we're asked to...
I've been with Stephen since he brought me into the U21 camp. I've seen the way he has worked for quite a bit now and we got some really good results with the U21s, unfortunately we just missed out on qualification for the European Championships.
I've seen him for quite a long time now so I'm definitely still behind him.
A win tomorrow night against Qatar would certainly be a help in easing some of that pressure.
SEE ALSO: Here's The Ireland Team We Want To See Against Qatar
