Award winner Josh Cullen says he is ready to become a leader for Ireland in their daunting Euro 2024 quest.
The Burnley midfielder has been crowned FAI Senior Men’s ‘Player of the Year’ - and Irish legend and previous winner Paul McGrath presented him with the trophy.
Cullen beat off stiff competition from defensive stalwart John Egan and forward Callum Robinson.
Katie McCabe is the Senior Women’s ‘Player of the Year’ while Gavin Bazunu is the Men’s ‘Young Player of the Year’.
And Cullen, 26, insists the award - for the 2021 calendar year - has put fire in his belly ahead of the blockbuster France and Holland games.
“I’ve improved after working hard on my game and to win an award this big is a great feeling,” he beamed last night.
“I was looking at the list of everyone who has won the award and it’s a huge honour for me and my family.
“To get on the same list as plenty of Irish footballing legends is brilliant. It took me by surprise, but it was a very nice surprise to start off this week.”
Ireland face Norway and Malta in friendlies before starting their Euro 2024 campaign against France in March.
With Greece also in the group, along with minnows Gibraltar, Ireland have it all to do to finish in the top two and qualify automatically.
But Cullen insists it can be done and is looking forward to studying France and Holland at the World Cup in the coming weeks.
“I’d be lying if I sat here and said it was an easy draw,” he said. “It goes without saying that we could have got an easier one.
“But some of our best performances over the last couple of years have been against the bigger nations.
“As a lad growing up, these are the games that you want to be involved in. So it’s a draw that we should be excited about and we have these two friendlies to prepare.”
Cullen will watch the World Cup with interest as he tries to pick up tips of facing France and Holland.
He added: “We know what we’re up against - they have quality players and will be world class opposition.
“But we’ll take confidence from putting in good performances against world class teams over the last couple of years.”
Roy Keane said it took him 20 to 25 games to get a feel for international football before being able to stamp his authority on proceedings.
Cullen is entering that territory as he prepares to win his 22nd cap in tomorrow’s friendly with Norway.
Nobody is racing to put the two of them on the same midfield pedestal, but quietly-spoken Cullen has become an effective and important anchor in Stephen Kenny’s team all the same.
Not that it was always this way for the former West Ham youngster who has since become a key man for Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and now Championship leaders Burnley.
Cullen, 26, didn’t make the squad for Kenny’s first three games in charge against Bulgaria, Finland and Slovakia, in that Euro 2020 playoff semi-final defeat on penalties.
That was despite winning two caps under Mick McCarthy at the tail end of his second coming, in friendlies against Bulgaria and New Zealand.
Cullen - who played with the Under-21s between 2015 and 2018 - eventually made his bow for Kenny against Wales in 2020.
But last year was his big breakthrough having been catapulted into ‘first-team regular’ status by Kenny for a World Cup campaign that was over before it started.
Still, his displays across that campaign have now secured his standing as the standout performer in that calendar year.
And while the news was officially announced by the FAI last night, it was broken to Cullen and the rest of the squad during a caps presentation night with Paul McGrath on Tuesday.
“To have a legend of Irish football come in and speak a little bit about his career and pass a bit of advice on to us was great and a huge honour,” said Cullen.
Assessing his time with Ireland, he continued: “You come into the squad, make a few appearances and you're feeling your way in.
“I've developed a lot of experience in different leagues and my time at Anderlecht helped me see a totally different side of the game.
“I feel I’m a much better player now than I was then.”
Cullen continued: “Nobody has a divine right to be in the senior squad for your country. It's something you have to work hard for.
“There are bumps in the road along the way. I had been involved under Mick before (Kenny) came in.
“Yeah, it was disappointing not to be in his first few squads but I knew I just had to get my head down and work hard and show that I should be in the squads.
“Ask any sportsman, or anyone in their daily lives, and there are challenges that we all have to face.
“You have periods where it’s injuries, not being in squads or teams, you could be disappointed with results or spells of form.
“Whatever it may be, you learn to deal with them and overcome it. That’s part of being a professional sportsman, part of the job, and you have to do all of those things.
“I’ve tried to do that and since I’ve been in, the manager (Kenny) has shown great trust and belief in me over the last couple of years.
“It has been a really enjoyable period for me and my career plan under him.”
But Cullen is not content with just coasting along in the team - he wants to become a leader in that Euro 2024.
And particularly so when few people give Ireland any hope of qualifying automatically for the finals in Germany.
Not with France and Holland vying for the top two positions in the group, along with Greece and minnows Gibraltar.
But Cullen said: “As you grow your experience of playing in big games, and being a more familiar face, then naturally a bit more responsibility comes.
“That's more the role of a leader and it's something I enjoy. That’s something I’m willing to take on and lead in any way I can.”
Ireland are facing into year-ending friendlies against a Norway side without Manchester City star Erling Haaland, and then lowly Malta away on Sunday.
As it stands, they are Kenny’s final games before the campaign-opening clash with France in Dublin on March 27.
Assessing Ireland’s year after a decidedly mixed Nations League campaign, Cullen said: “So much has happened over the year - plenty of games and ups and downs.
“I think the overall trend has been improvement of the squad and the team and we can see that.
“We know we're by no means the finished article but I think we can take a lot of positives from the last year.
“There's always room for improvement and we need to not settle for playing well and coming up short.
“We need to turn that into us going places, playing well and winning games.”
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