After training up at Malahide today, some of the Irish attackers hung around for a volleying competition.
It was a bit of craic more than anything but, with Martin O’Neill watching on, observing as keenly as ever, there was an element of business about the whole thing, too.
The ball was thrown up and, one-by-one, players would step forward and lash an effort menacingly at Darren Randolph manning the goals.
Some of them were tame. Some of them flew over the cage and literally out of the park. Others were on the money.
If you scored, you sat down. Reprieved. If you missed, you had to join the back of the queue and try and try again until you got it right under the glare of your team mates, the manager and some fans braving the north Dublin wind.
A certain Harry Arter joined the camp at their Gannon Park base ahead of Sunday’s European Championship qualifier with Poland and he only knew one or two of the players coming in.
He came forward politely to the edge of the box. He eyed up a ball hoisted before him and with one thunderous swing of that increasingly frightening left boot, he hammered one crashing off the back of the net. Randolph lying looking up at it thinking, ‘What the f***’.
Harry Arter had arrived.
“Just be yourself,” that’s what the Bournemouth midfielder said Martin O’Neill told him as he pulled on a Republic of Ireland training jersey for the first time. “That’s all you can do. I’ve been picked for a reason and I’ve been picked because the manager was impressed with the way I play so if I come here any different and not be confident then I won’t show the best of my ability so the manager just said ‘be yourself.’
“There are some top, top players here and I wasn’t sure what to expect because this was my first time but what I expected was quality and that’s what I saw today.”
At 25, Arter has had to work for his standing in the game.
It wasn’t that long ago that he was fighting for attention at places like Staines Town, Welling United, Woking. Now, he’s headed for the Aviva with a very real chance of affecting a huge game. An international game.
“I was playing non-league and international is far from that,” the London-born player reflected on times he thought it might not happen for him. “I was obviously only a young boy then but my main focus then was to just work as hard as I can and get back to a level that I thought I could play at.
“I’m confident in my own ability and this is a level that I think I’m capable of playing at. The key to that is just working hard and not resting on your laurels and, from the age of 19 up until now, I haven’t done that. I’m going to continue to work hard and hopefully reach the top.”
Arter, who’s grandmother hails from Sligo, is as privileged as any to receive the call up and he won’t forget the day he got word that he has made O’Neill’s list. He was only in the gym. Where else would he be?
“I didn’t realise until – I think it was a Thursday – I was just in the gym and one of the lads popped in and said, ‘congratulations, you got called up.’
“Obviously I wasn’t aware of anything so it was a nice surprise and a different way of finding out.
“It means a lot. Playing for your country is the ultimate goal in football and when you’re a little boy, that’s what you dream of and, if I do get the opportunity to play, it will be a proud moment.”
He isn’t expecting an easy ride though – from his own team mates, that is. As the squad’s newbie, he’s fully aware of initiation ceremonies and he’s heard mumblings of singing in certain corners of the team bus.
“I’m going to have to think of something, try and learn the words and just put my headphones on and close my eyes,” he said with a worried look on his face.
Sunday is the only concern for now though.
Arter has bagged two absolute screamers since receiving the call-up to the Ireland squad and he admitted that his scoring usually comes in spurts.
“Hopefully I can score in my next game, too,” he said.
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