John Egan hopes already knowing Martin O'Neill will one day help his cause with the Irish national side – but for now his primary focus is Brentford.
Centre-back Egan joined the Bees from Gillingham last week but started out with Sunderland five years ago, when current Ireland boss O'Neill was in charge at the Stadium of Light.
Egan has already represented the Republic at U17, U19 and U21 level, and a full cap may not be far off it he keeps his career on its upward trajectory at Griffin Park.
He said: “I always got on well with Martin and was always in and around his plans, but I broke my leg in two places at the end of 2012, and by the time I had recovered 10 months later there had been two changes in manager and Gus Poyet was in charge.
“I never interacted with Gus once when I got back fit, so I went out on loan to Southend, and it all started there for me really. I knew that summer that however well I done I would be moving on, but I always believed in my own ability, even back then.
“The last time I met Martin was at the PFA awards, I said hello and had a good chat with him. With him being at Sunderland when I was there and now in the Irish set up, hopefully it will bode well for me one day.
“Playing for Ireland is the goal of any Irishman growing up, and I'm no different, but I can't be getting too carried away just yet. Hopefully things like that will follow if I do well at Brentford. The club is my bread and butter, and I need to focus on doing well here.”
Egan comes into a Brentford squad with healthy competition at centre-back – with the likes of Harlee Dean, Yoann Barbet, Andreas Bjelland and Jack O'Connell all vying for a shirt too – but he won't shy away from the challenge.
He added: “I have to have a good pre-season first and foremost, and everything else will take care of itself. There's always competition for places at this level, but everyone can drive each other on and make each other better.
“If we're all giving 110 per cent in training, that will drive the competition for places, and that's what you need to be successful as a team. I believe in my ability, but I now have to back that up and work my way into the team.
“We've got some fantastic players here, I've been really impressed by the standards. There's no egos, they're all hard working players working hard for each other.”
