Jason Knight said that he is ready to answer the call to go head-to-head with France superstar Kylian Mbappe ahead of their vital game in Paris on Thursday night.
The versatile midfielder declared that he would be happy to play wherever asked, should he be selected in the side for the Paris clash.
Ireland will have to improvise a touch on the right side of defence in the absence of both the injured Seamus Coleman and the suspended Matt Doherty, and Knight is among a group of players who could be asked to sit in at right wing-back.
"I wouldn't say no," said Knight, about the prospect of lining out with the responsibility of keeping world superstar Kylian Mbappe quiet in Paris.
"I’m happy as long as I’m playing. As a player you want to play in the big games against the best players. It would be a great opportunity, but I’m not the manager so whatever happens, happens. I look forward to it."
Stephen Kenny's side go into the toughest week of their campaign, beginning with an away game at the home of the World Cup beaten finalists, before taking on the Netherlands in Dublin on Sunday night.
A struggling start to the campaign, where Ireland suffered consecutive defeats to France in Dublin, before losing away to Greece in Athens.
And while they bounced back to a certain degree by putting points on the board against Gibraltar last time out, there is a real sense that points are needed in this most difficult double-header in order to get the qualification campaign back on track.
France, of course, have won four from four thus far, including a comprehensive victory over the Dutch in the opening game, which despite the slow start, allows Ireland a chance to fight for that one remaining automatic qualifying place for next summer’s tournament in Germany.
With that in mind, Sunday’s visit of the Netherlands might be deemed a more important game in terms of qualification, however, with lost ground to make up, Kenny’s side have to go to France with the intention of bringing something home.
"We’re definitely still in the group. It only takes one result to turn it on its head," said Knight, speaking to the media ahead of the trip to the French capital.
"We're definitely going into this window wanting and needing points. It’s about putting in a good performance on Thursday. It will be tough but we’re going there full of confidence.
"It’s only early in this campaign and we’re still in it. We had a few difficult results, Greece away being one, but we’re still in this. So you don’t know."
Knight believes that a confident Ireland squad will bring the quality needed to work goalscoring opportunities against the French.
The Dubliner is enjoying a new lease of life back in the Championship, having signed for Bristol City during the summer, and he believes that there is real belief in the current squad ahead of a very tricky week ahead.
"[We’re] full of confidence," said Knight. "We put in a good performance against France at home and I think we just need to replicate that and go one step further. It's obviously going to be difficult but we're full of confidence.
"We've gone through some really good preparation so far this week and we're looking forward to the game on Thursday.
"We need to work extremely hard, they've got good players, they're a good team. We know we need to be working hard but, we need to go one step further and win the game. We've obviously had chances at home but we just need to be converting them and keeping the back door shut as well."
Speaking to the media on Monday, before news broke of Evan Ferguson being ruled out of the two games on Tuesday, it adds emphasis to Knight’s opinions of the striker’s influence and his role in the current line-up.
The squad would have, no doubt, been aware that Ferguson arrived into camp with a big question mark over his fitness and Knight implied as much, as he stressed the importance of the entire squad contributing in the goalscoring department.
"We've obviously got other players who can score goals as well so it's not all on Evan," said Knight.
"He's obviously a main part of the team but it's not all on him. We've got to score goals from other parts of the team as well."
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