Lurking behind Chiedozie Ogbene’s dazzling smile is a player feeding off nervous energy.
But the Corkman insists he will try to park any self doubt once and for all as he strives for ‘greatness’ in a green shirt.
When taking his first steps as an international last summer, Ogbene questioned whether he belonged at this level.
Six caps and two goals later, the Nigerian-born star knows he has the ability to stick around and contribute.
But there’s still an inferiority complex gnawing away at him from time to time, despite already becoming a firm fans’ favourite.
The speedster knows he must change his mindset and stop asking if a League One player should really be playing international football.
Not that he's alone, of course.
Late last year, seven of the Ireland squad were playing weekly in England’s third tier - and six of them this week.
But ahead of Saturday’s clash with world No 1s Belgium, Ogbene has hailed Stephen Kenny for giving him the belief that he not only belongs, but can excel.
Rotherham United flyer Ogbene said: “He’s always in my ear.
“When I first came in here I was a League One player, looking in awe at Premier League and Championship players who have many caps.
“He just said 'Chiedozie, you’re capable of this level and that’s why I believe in you'.
“When the manager tells you that and then says ‘don't be afraid to make mistakes’, when you do make a mistake you look back and he’s clapping you.
“That gives you a confidence boost to keep going and when you have no fear of making mistakes, that's when you're at your best.”
Ogbene’s biggest moment of his career came last November when he started the scoreless World Cup qualifying draw with Portugal.
“It was a great test,” said the 25-year-old. “The gaffer gave me a lot of confidence going out because, in the second-half, I was quite nervous taking that kickoff.
“But he gave me a lot of belief and said I had great dribbling skills and to take it on and put pressure on.
“That gave me a lot of confidence to see what I could do on the big stage and I’m quite confident in my ability.”
But Ogbene, 24, isn’t getting ahead of himself either.
He still gets hit by nerves and also knows Kenny can be ruthless if players are not producing at club level - just ask Jamie McGrath this week.
“Every time I get called, I’m still nervous and checking the list and hopefully I’m involved,” he said.
“And when it comes to the first day of training, I’m nervous playing against players in the Championship and I’m still in League One.
“I have to get that out of my head. I’m here for a reason. The manager believes in me and I obviously believe in myself. Hopefully I can grow in confidence.
“I’ve set a huge expectation for myself and I want to keep going. Consistency is the key. You have to be consistently good to be great and that's what I want to be.
“Nerves do kick in because you want to do well for yourself, for the club, the nation and for my family.
“But it's good that I’m nervous because it shows how much I cherish this opportunity and I don't want to waste it.”
Facing the Belgium and Lithuania games, Ogebene has also stressed the importance of not wasting Ireland’s shift in momentum.
The World Cup campaign was disappointing but the team finished on an upward curve which was sufficient for Kenny to land a new contract.
Ogbene scored in Ireland’s last game, the 3-0 win away to Luxembourg last November and said: “It was fantastic for myself, the team and the nation to finish on a high.
“We would have preferred to finish second in the group, but we showed positive signs of what we were capable of.
“Finishing on a high gives us momentum and hopefully we can now prepare well for the Nations League in June and take the momentum into that period.”
But Ogbene will keep putting in the hard yards to go the distance for club and country.
At Rotherham, the pacey wide-man is used as a right-wing back whereas Kenny prefers to play him further up the pitch.
Ogbene doesn’t mind admitting that wing-back is by no means his preferred position - but with Rotherham leading League One, he can’t have any complaints.
“I give my all for the team week in, week out,” he said.
“On average I do about 1 km of high speed running and cover about 11 km each game, which is a lot when you do it Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday.
“Paul Warne (Rotherham manager) does try to protect me because I don’t have a full-back behind me, so I’m up and down the pitch.
“Physically it’s demanding and he wants me in peak condition because I’m a power athlete. I need to be explosive in every game.”
Ogbene continued: “At Rotherham, my job is to take the pressure off the team - take us as high as possible, get crosses in the box as we play off crosses.
“We try to make the game as fast as possible so the opposition cannot keep up.
“We’re quite a dynamic team and I’m expected to be back post to score and back post to defend. If after 60 or 70 minutes you have to come off, you’ll come off.
“It’s not a position that I highly enjoy. We have to. That’s my job and I’m here to do it.
“I’d prefer to be higher on the pitch because I can get at centre-backs with a lot more energy as I can cause them problems.
“At wing-back, I can exploit my pace but can feel fatigued towards the end of the match from being up and down.”
With Ireland, Ogbene doesn’t have to worry about the hard yards up and down the pitch as he knows the cover is there behind him..
And that is why he relishes the more attacking role in the final third of the pitch.
“When I’m here, I feel after 70 or 80 minutes that I’ve still a lot more to give. It does help being higher up the pitch,” he said.
“I’m able to be more dynamic here. My high speed is good in training but that’s in my nature. I don’t mean to do it, I’m just dynamic and want to break lines.
“We want to be dynamic on the break, we want to keep possession but also score. I’ve to be sharper in the national team because there’s more going on.”
Ogbene is also set his sights on playing in the Premier League.
He admires big hitters like Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford and wants to emulate them one day.
But for now, the 24-year-old would settle for a return to the Championship with Rotherham.
“Every kid has ambitions to play in the Premier League," he continued. “I watch a lot of Premier League games with Rashford and Sterling, similar attributes to me, and I want to be like players like that.
“But I have to do my job at my club. I can't dream too far ahead. Hopefully in the future I can evolve into those players that I admire.
“I’ve ambitions to play at a higher level than I currently am in League One. Ideally, I’d like to be there with my club but sometimes that may not happen.
“I'm 24, going on 25, and I want to learn the game because we haven't sussed out everything.”
Rotherham are on track for Championship promotion and also have a Papa Johns Trophy final at Wembley on April 3 against Sutton United.
And Ogbene - who has another year on his Millers deal - wants to snatch silverware and nail promotion this season.
“I’ve never played at Wembley and I’m excited. Hopefully I can win this trophy and never have to play in the competition again!
“(In the league) 80 points would usually be enough, but it's a tough season this year and it's not enough, so we're just trying to get over the line and hopefully we get promotion.
“Hopefully in two, three or four years I'm at a better level than I am and hopefully still involved with the international squad and learning, so I can really express myself.
“It’s a goal of mine to push onto the next level. I want to be in the Championship next season because when we’re in the Nations League, we’re not playing League One teams. We’ll be playing top countries.”
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