Jack Byrne is one of the most exciting prospects in Irish football right now.
The Man City midfielder is on loan with Dutch Eredivisie club Cambuur where - despite their mediocre league position - the 19-year-old has impressed.
Such has been the buzz around Byrne, there were calls for him to be called up to the Irish senior squad for the games against Switzerland and Slovakia. Instead, he was called up to Noel King's U21 squad. Then, subsequently, he was invited to train with the senior players.
Much of the hype surrounding the Dubliner is due to his creativity - something there is a deficit of in Irish football. Byrne is also confident.
In an interview with The42.ie, published on Monday, Byrne related his belief that he has distinct abilities compared to the average Irish footballer.
I’m more of a technical footballer; I affect the game in different ways than a lot of Irish footballers.
On Monday, during the post-training session press conference, Byrne's assertion was put to Martin O'Neill.
Jokingly, the Ireland manager explained that Glenn Whelan may be to be tasked with downgrading Byrne's self-belief.
I was speaking to him there and he certainly doesn't lack confidence. If he said that... he thought that could influence the games, did he? OK, well there you are.
I'd need to see a bit more of him. He might be dumped on his backside tomorrow by some of the senior players. Good luck to him.
Once I let the senior players know that he's been 'onlining', yeah... yeah... I'll have a wee word with Glenn Whelan about that.
So if you see him being carted off tomorrow, you'll know the boys have read the online stuff.
You can watch O'Neill's full Monday press conference below.
Picture credit: SPORTSFILE
