Soccer

Jason Knight hoping to see some action against Portugal and Ronaldo

Republic of Ireland's Jason Knight has backed Stephen Kenny to continue in the job
Republic of Ireland's Jason Knight has backed Stephen Kenny to continue in the job Republic of Ireland's Jason Knight has backed Stephen Kenny to continue in the job

FOR most of yesterday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s showdown with Portugal, Jason Knight cut a bashful figure and was quite happy to let his international team-mate Josh Cullen do more of the talking.

But the Derby County midfielder prompted laughter among the assembled press when he was asked to recall how his club manager Wayne Rooney injured him during a training session last July which threatened to sideline him for three months. It turned out to be several weeks.

“I hope he was devastated,” said the 20-year-old Dubliner.

“No, he obviously didn’t mean it. It kept me out for a few weeks and it was something that I had to learn from as I haven’t had too many injuries in my career so far. I have come past it and feel stronger for it.

“It was just on the training ground. A slip from the ‘gaffer’ in training. It was well documented in the past but it was just a freak accident and thankfully I’m back from it and playing a lot now and doing alright.”

The former Manchester United striker joined in the training session to make up the numbers before injuring one of his most talented midfielders.

But given Knight’s steady improvement at senior international level, there is no sense of the former underage ace merely making up the numbers in Stephen Kenny’s squad ahead of their final two World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Luxembourg.

He’s looking forward to perhaps getting the chance to rub shoulders with Cristiano Ronaldo at some stage on Thursday night in front of a packed Aviva Stadium, having been used from the bench in Ireland’s 3-0 friendly win over Qatar last month.

He’s by no means first choice in Kenny’s midfield but his versatility keeps him in the frame with Cullen, Jeff Hendrick, Jaysn Molumby and Jamie McGrath undoubtedly ahead of him in the pecking order.

The former Cabinteely FC junior, who signed for Derby at 16, also hopes Kenny will get a contract extension and continue in the job.

“On a personal level, he’s given me my chance, obviously with the U21s and he’s brought me up and given me eight senior caps so far. I’m grateful for that and I want to see him continue and hopefully he continues.”

He was also full of praise for his club manager despite crisis-torn Derby sitting at the foot of the Championship after 17 games.

“Everyone knows what the ‘gaffer’ did in his career but he has been great for me personally on a one-to-one basis. He gives me little snippets of information that can help me develop my game and he has been great.

“We are going through a tough period but he has been great for me and my game and hopefully I can keep developing and keep performing well for Derby and for Ireland.”

During his conversations with Rooney, Ronaldo’s name has come up from time to time and how good a professional he is.

The Portuguese superstar grabbed two late goals to sink Ireland in Faro back in September which was another fatal blow to their World Cup prospects.

“I have talked to the ‘gaffer’ about his own career and he [Ronaldo] has come up a couple of times in terms of how professional he is and how he lives his life. You watch him and you can see that he’s one of the best players that has played. It is hard to stop him but Portugal have a lot of very good players and it’s not just against Ronaldo that you’re playing.

“You have to look and focus on other players and the whole team as a collective and that is what we’re going to try and do on Thursday night."