As long as Mason Melia works hard and keeps his feet on the ground, the Ireland Under-17s two-goal hero has a bright future in the game.
That's the opinion of newly appointed St Patrick’s Athletic manager Jon Daly, who was delighted to see Colin O’Brien’s young side bounce back from the opening defeat to Poland to beat Wales and Hungary to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the European championships. A date with Spain now looms in the last eight.
The Inchicore club is well represented in the national Under-17s squad with a trio of players away at the tournament in Hungary, with striker Melia involved alongside midfield duo Luke Kehir and Rhys Bartley.
Melia and Kehir both bagged a brace in the decisive 4-2 victory over the hosts, and Daly said it was great for the club to see their players making such an impact.
"It’s very pleasing for the 17s," said Daly, speaking to RTE Sport. "They obviously had a slow start to the campaign and bounced back with two solid wins.
"And it’s great for the club to have the goalscorers yesterday."
Fifteen-year-old Melia became the youngest player ever to make a league appearance for St Pat’s in a recent game against Drogheda, and Daly believes that the club’s contingent can progress their career in the League of Ireland, and will be utilised whenever they are ready to play.
"Mason is a key player, and one that was on the bench previously in our team," said Daly.
"I put him on against Drogheda when we were trying to win the game and he came on and made an impact.
"If they keep their feet on the ground and keep working hard as they do, they have got a great chance of having a good career in the game. When they are ready, we are more than comfortable to put them in and give them opportunities.
"Young players can get a bit ahead of themselves and feel that they are ready for first team football. We will give young players opportunities when the moment is right, and we feel that we are not going to put them in harm’s way."
Daly has been working at St Pat’s since the start of the season, initially as a member of Tim Clancy’s coaching team, and then moved into an interim role, following the departure of the manager.
A run of good results in recent weeks has shown the board enough to offer Daly the role as permanent manager, and while his progression was not how he envisaged it, he is ready to seize his opportunity at the Richmond Park club.
"It’s a conversation I had with him (Clancy) prior to coming in," said Daly. "He knew where I wanted to go in terms of my own career.
"It was never meant to be to his detriment. I felt that I could come in and help Tim and then potentially, down the line, get a manager’s job elsewhere."
"Football is a funny business, and the way the results went, the club made a decision and they asked me to step in. I was happy to do so on an interim basis.
"Obviously, to get the call to go in on a permanent basis is fantastic, but it is never nice when it is to the detriment of a friend."
Saints were one of a handful of sides tipped to challenge Shamrock Rovers for the league title ahead of the start of the 2023 campaign, however, a poor run of results led to the departure of Clancy.
And Daly has seen his side move back up to fourth place thanks to recent victories over Cork City, Drogheda United and most recently, Dublin rivals Shelbourne.
"There is a good squad in there, so it was probably just little tweaks in terms of slight changes to positions," said Daly, when asked what he had changed since Clancy’s departure.
"And it was just trying to drive demands in training, and putting some extra demands on certain key players, and that obviously has helped us."
As for the future, Daly is hopeful of establishing himself in the role of a football manager, following a long career as a player, and he knows that if his reputation grows, then it will mean that the club are heading in the right direction.
"My own personal ambition is to do well. If I do well for St Pat’s then who knows," he said.
"I’m very much aligned with where the club want to go. We want to be challenging at the right end of the table and challenging for trophies.
"That’s where I see the club going, and how I can potentially help with that."
Watch the Republic of Ireland v Spain in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Under-17 European Championship on Saturday, from 7pm, on the RTÉ News channel
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