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The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Nathan Collins shares new waters he's ‘never experienced' before as an Ireland player after bore Luxembourg draw
NATHAN COLLINS admitted last night's scoreless draw felt too much like an end-of-season friendly — but insisted the clean sheet was still a plus. The Boys in Green made it four games unbeaten in 2025 yet were unimpressive for the most part And Collins acknowledged that Ireland performed well below their own expectations. The captain said: 'Before the game, we didn't want it to be that last game, end-of-season friendly feel to it. We wanted to be not as passive and wanted to get after them more but we weren't at that.' Collins, an ever-present for Brentford in the Premier League, added: 'It's been a long season, I've been trying to push myself to the limit. "I'm physically tired, but I'm more mentally tired. I doubt I'm the only one in that boat. Read more on Irish football 'We've pushed ourselves to the max this season, away to Luxembourg, it's not an easy game. 'They played a really good game, they are very good, they pressed high and that probably hurt us as well. 'I know the passiveness was there but we still made them force things, we still defended in a nice solid way and made them go around us. 'Considering how we're nowhere near our best, we still dug out a clean sheet. But we all know that was nowhere near our best and we have so much more to give.' Most read in Football Collins hailed team-mates He said: 'We're lucky that it still carries momentum. The way we played we could have lost that. We didn't deserve to win but to sit in and defend the way we did, we didn't deserve to lose. Inside Arsenal's Ibiza holiday as Katie McCabe and teammates pop champagne to celebrate Champions League win 'Credit to Max O'Leary, he's been in the camp a long time and not got his caps but made two great saves. "Doc got a tackle in and Knighty was class in front. We weren't at our best but defended well, dug in and had our chances.' For Collins, that bodes well for the World Cup qualifiers in September when Ireland kick off against Hungary. He said: 'When we come back in in September we build on that. We have great momentum and we haven't lost in a few games. 1 The 24 year-old hopes to lead Ireland to a World Cup 'We know there is more things to work on and get better. Going in unbeaten in four into a qualifier, I've never experienced that. 'I can't wait for it. Fans will be at it. The bond we've created with the fans is great, I'm looking forward to be back in the Aviva, hunger straight off the bat, a massive game.' And Collins believes the past week — with He added: 'That's the whole point of this, you want players to come in, you want players under pressure for the next person. It's a great thing that pushes the next player.' On those absent, he added: 'It's going to be hard for them to get back in. We know we have a good squad.'
The Irish Sun
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Nathan Collins sets unexpected Premier League record with Brentford as Ireland star overtakes Virgil Van Dijk
NATHAN COLLINS can lay claim to an unexpected Premier League record - overtaking Virgil van Dijk to do so. The Republic of Ireland international has been a revelation since signing for 2 Nathan Collins is the only outfield player to play every single minute in the Premier League this season Credit: Getty Images - Getty 2 He overtook Virgil Van Dijk after he was rested against Brighton Credit: Getty Images - Getty He had been matched all the way by This means that the Kildare-native is now the only outfield player to have starred in every single minute of every single game in the division this season. He can round out an entire Premier League campaign if he plays all 90 minutes in Brentford's final fixture away to Wolves on Sunday. He will carry the confidence of a breakthrough Premier League campaign into the international window. Read More on Ireland MNT The qualifiers begin in September. Boss Heimir Hallgrimsson has been experimenting with Collins' position in recent games, having tried him in midfield against That experiment did not go to plan, with Ireland losing 5-0 although they competed well until Yet despite the result, the 24-year-old insisted he would Most read in Football Speaking ahead of the first leg of the 'The first half was a new role, we were in control of what we wanted to do, the way we set up we were in control, the problems we caused England were what we wanted to cause them. 'Frustrated' Nathan Collins hints at explosive fall-out in Ireland dressing room after latest loss to Greece 'I was fortunate to have two good lads there beside me in Jay (Jayson Molumby) and Josh (Cullen) helping me out and talking to me. 'The lads behind me talking as well, what we worked on and that we wanted to do to cause problems to them. I was happy with my performance in the first half.' Still he admitted that the role took a lot of adapting on the day as he explained his role in detail. He said: 'There's a lot more going on really. Usually when I'm a defender, it's mostly in front of me but, now in that position a lot is behind you. 'There's runners behind you, there are players there, so my head is constantly in the swivel, checking where everybody is, trying to ensure they're in the right position. 'The game feels quicker in there and the ball moves quicker whereas at centre-back because it's in front of you, it moves a bit slower. 'You must move up and down the pitch, to organise when we're attacking and defending. 'With the role we created, I had to pick the right time to drop back in to defend but also stay up and impose that press as well. 'It's not it's something new, it was a challenge I was looking forward to, believing I could help the lads in that role. 'But, again, it was an exciting challenge, and if he needs me to play there again I'd be happy to play there again if the manager wants.'
