Aaron Collins admits he was "gutted" to miss out Wales' World Cup squad, but the Bristol Rovers' star's confidence has not been dented and he says he will do all he can to realise his "dream" of representing his country down the line.
The 25-year-old has been one of the outstanding players in the entire EFL in 2022, scoring 24 goals in the calendar year, with a dozen assists to boot, prompting calls for him to make a late breakthrough into Rob Page's squad on the plane to Qatar later this month.
Collins' fine form for Rovers is significant consolation for the Newport-based striker, and he was named the League One Player of the Month on Friday after scoring three goals and adding three assists for the Gas in October.
He is determined to help Joey Barton's side climb the table in the weeks ahead, and if he keeps up his good form then a maiden Wales cap should take care of itself. It is apparent how much that would mean to a proud Welshman.
"I’m gutted this time because the chance to represent your country is what you dream of as a kid, but looking at the positives, if I carry on this form, I am in their names as well," he said. "Going into next year even if it’s a friendly or a EURO qualifier it would be good to get called up. I’ll try and kick on to make sure I do get that chance.
"It would be a dream of mine to play for Wales. I didn’t get much of a chance as a kid, I made one appearance for the under-19s, so if I was able to get a cap for the first team it would make my life for the rest of my life.
"It was obviously going to be tough. Wales have got good attacking players from the Premier League and Championship sides. There was that little chance and I was gutted but I’m here now, playing in League One and hopefully, I can add to the goals and assists tally."
Almost a year to the day, Collins' fortunes at Rovers were transformed. He had gone almost 20 games without a goal after joining from Forest Green Rovers in the summer of 2021, but on a wild night in the FA Cup against Oxford United, Collins scored a stunning goal from long range to spark an incredible comeback win in extra time at the Mem.
From that moment, he has been in electric form. His goals at the back end of last season powered Rovers' push to promotion and he has immediately settled to life in League One, with nine goals, six assists and several talismanic performances to his name.
When asked about what has changed, Collins puts it down to confidence, demonstrated by his desire to improve on last year's 18-goal haul with at least 20 this season.
"Going into this season I've been full of confidence and I’ve felt I’ve proved to myself and those that have doubted me in the post that I can play in League One and if not higher in the future," the former Wolverhampton Wanderers prospect – who signed a three-year extension with the Gas in the summer – said.
"Most seasons before I have gone into seasons wanting double figures in goals and assists. Going into this season I’ve started this season so well. I’ve gone into this season on the back of the last saying I want 20 goals. I’ve started so well that I am tallying them up and I’m hoping to get as many as I can. The more I can get the better."
At times, particularly last season, Collins has had to lead the line, but he admits he is happier playing alongside a powerful centre-forward in the Ryan Loft or Josh Coburn moulds. With Coburn back available for Saturday's game against Fleetwood Town after missing the FA Cup win over Rochdale, Collins is likely to return to his preferred role of working off a number nine.
Alongside him could be Scott Sinclair in what appears an exciting prospect on paper. Sinclair scored his first Rovers goal against Rochdale in his first start since returning to his boyhood club last month, and with Collins and the former Celtic forward either side of a target man, Barton has a dynamic front three in his arsenal.
"You could say we haven’t had an out-and-out winger so far this season," Collins said. "I’ve been playing out there, a bit of Harvey Saunders and a bit of Macca (Luke McCormick). We’re proving we can still play around that and do it.
"Scotty is an out-and-out winger. He proved on Saturday if you get the ball out to him, he’ll get at players one-on-one and beat them and cause trouble. I am looking forward to it and being a number nine or ten if I want to go and score the goals. If the ball goes to him, I’ve got to get in the box and there are chances for me to score goals."
Collins is pleased to be recognised on an individual level, but his desire to create as many goals as he scores is evidence of his team-first mentality. His utmost priority is Rovers' form over the coming weeks.
"We proved (last month) we can play with those at the top of the table," he said. "We may not have started the best and that might be where we are now. We proved that as a team we can do something this season and kick on from that.
"When you go out there and prove it. We proved against Plymouth we were as good as them and Sheffield Wednesday. We let ourselves down against Derby but we had a sloppy start and it was hard to fight back from that. We proved that now, people can start believing now that we can be like the top team in the league this season.
"We’re not far off it now. We’re looking at the Christmas period going into January. You get a good run over this period of time you can kick on over January, which is what we did last year. You can cause an upset and do what you want to do which is in the play-offs or in the promotion mix."
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