Cyrus Christie said he has "a lot to live up to" if he's to deputise for Seamus Coleman, but the Derby County man is doing everything in his power to seize his opportunity.
Coleman's horrific leg break against Wales back in March hurt every player in the Republic of Ireland squad.
The Donegal man is hugely liked and respected in the camp, and dreadful nature of the injury triggered an outpouring of despair from the Irish camp.
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Full-back Christie, who travelled to America early to work on his fitness, may now be asked to step up to the plate in Coleman's absence for the huge World Cup qualifier against Austria on Sunday week, and the 24-year-old is desperate to do himself justice.
"I wanted to come here in the best shape possible and do the best role I can and fill in for Seamus," Christie told RTÉ Sport ahead of the New Jersey friendly against Mexico in the small hours of Friday morning.
"He's a fantastic player and I've a lot to live up to.
"(Playing Mexico) is going to be a great experience. You look around this stadium, it's fantastic. It's a lot bigger than you're used to. Hopefully there'll be a good turnout. We've had a great few weeks building up to this.
"We've trained hard, we've worked hard. I'm sure the boys want to go out an out on a good performance and just blow off a few cobwebs because it has been a while since we played."
James McClean will captain the side at the MetLife Stadium in what will be his 50th international appearance.
The Derry winger spoke of his willingness to pull on the shirt at every opportunity on Wednesday, and manager Martin O'Neill paid tribute to his man ahead of kick-off Stateside: "The great thing about James is he feels important in the team particularly on this World up run we've had."
