Amber Barrett could earn her 50th Republic of Ireland cap if she features in tomorrow's Nations League clash against Greece in Crete.
Inarguably the Donegal woman’s best moment for her country came in Glasgow almost two and a half years ago when she prodded the ball past Scotland keeper Lee Alexander to send Ireland to the World Cup.
After enduring a torrid time at Turbine Potsdam in Germany, she’s now with Belgian outfit Standard Liege, scoring goals and playing well. The qualified teacher is a straight talker who backs herself to the hilt.
In new boss Carla Ward, she has someone cut from the same cloth.
"I think when Carla has come in, I’ve just channelled it to be another opportunity for me to prove myself," said the 29-year-old.
"It’s something that you have to work on for a long time; it’s not just, you turn up for a couple of trainings and then you hope that it goes well. It has to consistent, and it has to be on a consistent basis.
"It has been a refreshing start, but again, it’s something that I want to continue to build on."
Barrett started in the dreadful 4-0 loss to Slovenia in February. It was a chastening night that led to a painful post mortem, but the squad - and Ward - have taken owenrship of it.
This week is a welcome opportunity to put it right.
"I always think that these things, as disheartening as they are, can be a good thing because you either have to say you are getting too comfortable in a situation and raise standards," said Barrett.
"It was one of those games where everything that could go wrong probably did go wrong. I think if you look back at the goals, just moments, basics, like five-yard passes weren't coming off, letting players run off your shoulder, the gaps in the middle were just huge.
"You can do a lot of tactical stuff but at the end of the day, you still have to defend the goal, that’s the end game. I found it difficult to create chances and score. It’s something I have to use to build on, and take what I learned from it. That’s the only way. You have to move on from it. You can’t keep reflecting on Slovenia but we do have to use that as the benchmark. We can’t let that happen again."
There’s quite a heavy Irish presence at Standard Liege. Claire O’Riordan and Aoife Colvill are on the books, Gavin Bazunu is between the sticks for the men’s side, while ex-Finn Harps and Bohs man Fergal Harkin was the club’s sporting director up until a month ago, when he left for a similar position at Bolton Wanderers.
Barrett made the switch in the summer of 2023. It's proven to be a good decision. She has 14 goals in all competitions (including two in the victory against Oud-Heverlee in the Belgian Cup semi-final) and is happy, confident and hungry.
"It’s definitely been a mixed season in terms of results we’ve had, we’ve dropped a lot of unfortunate points but I definitely feel as if I’m growing into myself again," she added.
"I’ve been fortunate to score against the big teams over there which is the main aim I suppose, and obviously helped us to some important results. You know we’ve a very busy last seven games, a cup final to look forward to, we’re in the play-off for the league. So them performances have to turn in the pressure moments as well so that’s something that I will hope to help the team with as well."
With seven goals in her 49 international appearances to date, Barrett longs for a few more big days. The Hampden Park goal might be her 'David O'Leary at Italia 90' moment, but she does not want it to be the only thing people remember her for.
"I think that's why I said after the Scotland game that I didn't want this to be the only thing people talked about," she reflected. "Because you might never qualify for a World Cup or Euros again. These are all possibilities. This is football. There is no guarantee.
"You want to make a mark in so many ways. If we win this group I want it to be said that Amber contributed with goals and moments that get us over the line.
"Of course I am proud about (Scotland) and I love hearing about it but I don't want it to be the only thing. I have more to give.
"I heard Kyra (Carusa) now has 10 goals. I have seven. I want to get to double figures. I have all these ambitions. I just have to be in the mindset that the opportunities might not come every game, but when they do, you have to make them count."
Watch Greece v Republic of Ireland in the Women's Nations League on Friday from 3pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra
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