Jayson Molumby is adamant that he will be sharp enough to feature during the Republic of Ireland's three FIFA World Cup qualifiers over the next week and a half and is relishing the chance to go up against Portugal on Wednesday.
The midfielder has yet to feature at first-team club level this season, having just made a loan move from Premier League Brighton to West Brom in the Championship just before the international break.
Having won nine caps under Stephen Kenny since making his Boys in Green debut last September, the 22-year-old is eager to make an impression against Portugal on Wednesday, followed by fixtures at home versus Azerbaijan and Serbia.
"Absolutely," he said when asked if he feels ready to start.
"I mean, obviously I'm going to say that because I want to play every game but I definitely feel really good and feeling quite fresh and ready to go."
Ireland's Jayson Molumby recently sealed a loan move from Brighton to West Brom
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) August 29, 2021
Ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, he's been telling @DAVEKELLY4 & @Raftastico about who he consulted before making his decision to join the Baggies #RTESoccer #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/NiUGBkOkWG
The Waterford native and the Boys In Green will need to be at their best given the star talent available to Portugal but Molumby does not think the focus should be on damage limitation.
"That's not really the mentality I was ever brought up with anyway," he said.
"I don't think that's really an Irish mentality either. But I'm just relishing to play against the best players in the world and giving everything for Ireland."
While Molumby is leaving Brighton behind temporarily, he was pleased to see Ireland team-mate Shane Duffy make a strong start to the campaign for the Seagulls after returning from a difficult loan last season at Celtic.
"Since I've been a young lad at Brighton, Duffy has been a big guy to look up to for all us young Irish guys," he said.
"We always looked to him and he was always brilliant with us. So to see him back and he feels so comfortable and he looks really happy and I think he's in a good place at the moment so I'm absolutely delighted for him.
"He's a great guy and a real role model for a lot of us."
Molumby added that Duffy would be "massive and crucial" for Ireland over the coming qualifiers as the Kenny's men aim to win their first points of the campaign after losses to Serbia and Luxembourg in March.
