Why Premier League drought does not concern Ireland legend
That's the sort of info which, once upon a time, would have driven Enid Blyton to write a new children's book: five go on an impossible mission.
Yet Kevin Kilbane, ambassador for Online Casino, doesn't see it that way.
Read more: Troy Parrott, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe… where Dubliner features among top scorers in 2025
Having soldiered away in an Ireland shirt for 14 years and 110 caps, Kilbane knows a thing or two about adjusting to international football from England's second tier.
Initially he found it hard playing Championship football with West Brom and then lining out against technically better and tactically different teams.
But today's Championship - where the bulk of Irish players now ply their trade - is a completely different League in terms of style compared to then.
Kilbane said: 'While it is hard to see so few Irish players get their chance in the Premier League, every Irish fan has accepted we are not going to be like the glory days anymore, in that we are not going to have 15 to 20 starters per week. And I can't see the number of Irish starters changing any time soon.
'But thankfully we still have a lot of quality. And that is where we have to build from - the five players who did get their start for Premier League clubs last weekend.
'Add in Evan Ferguson, Adam Idah and Troy Parrott to that mix and you have the nucleus of a good team who are all performing at a decent level.
'And while we are always going to look towards the Premier League as being the No1 place to be, to have Troy doing what he is doing in the Netherlands, cannot be overlooked.
"We hope Evan can produce the goods with Roma. Adam Idah is doing great stuff with Celtic. Adam Idah (Image:)
'Plus, I wouldn't be too down on the Championship because that league makes real players. We cannot undervalue what it means to be a regular in that League and a serious Championship player.'
Once we did underestimate it, though, with the former Ireland Under 21 manager Don Givens describing the league as 'dour, tactically predictable and alien to what is required at international football'.
But that was a long time ago, back in 2002.
Now Kilbane believes the influx of non British and Irish players and coaches has had a transformative effect and thereby has made it a bridgeable leap to go from being a club player in the Championship to an international performer.
Kilbane said: 'When I started out in my career in the fourth tier, every single manager was British. League One would have been the same back then. The Championship then was also British focused. A foreign coach was rare.
'But that landscape has changed. The coaches are bringing something entirely different to the players, a new way of thinking, a new way of playing.
'So in terms of how a team sets up tactically, I don't see too much difference between the Championship and international football. Technically yes, international players are better. The quality is a lot higher but it is not night and day like it may once have been.'
And overlooking all this is an Icelandic coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, who has begun to win over his critics.
Kilbane said: 'I like Hallgrimsson and how he has been approaching games.
'But let's be honest, if we get beaten by Hungary, we are done.
'We have to win that opening game to give ourselves a chance of being at the World Cup next summer. Our last two campaigns have been done before they started. That is why it comes back to the utmost importance of this first game.
'I am hopeful.'
Kevin Kilbane was speaking on behalf of Online Casino. See https://casino.netbet.ie/: for further details
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