There have been few more pleasant surprises for Cardiff City fans this season than Callum O'Dowda.
Having been blighted by injuries in recent seasons and been allowed to leave Bristol City as a free agent after six years, some supporters were sceptical about just what he would bring to the side.
Well, it's pretty clear there are no doubters remaining now.
Take any 10 Cardiff City fans and ask them to name their three nominees for player of the season, albeit in a hugely disappointing team campaign, and you would get short odds on at least nine of them having the Irishman as their pick.
Indeed, Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny believes he has been the Bluebirds' best player this season, which you can read about here.
It is why O'Dowda was included in Kenny's 26-man squad ahead of the likes of Swansea City's Ryan Manning and Preston North End's Robbie Brady. He was even selected ahead of veteran James McClean for the game against Latvia on Wednesday night and, boy, didn't he repay the favour.
The wing-back opened the scoring after just six minutes when he darted in front of his defender before heading home Will Smallbone's cross to set the Boys in Green on course for a toughly-fought 3-2 win.
"Obviously I speak to him a lot,” O’Dowda said of Kenny. "It’s just more showing more a positive influence, more about going forward and having a positive effect on the game.
“That’s what he wanted me to do, not to be safe, dribble up the pitch, use my qualities that I have. I’m happy that he’s shown the faith in me over the years.
“I am enjoying the role, I like to learn a lot about the role and I am delighted to play today and get a goal. A big mention for me has to go to the gaffer, to put that faith in me. I am really happy."
Of the goal, O'Dowda added: "It was my second header this season, [against] Reading and tonight.
"Even going back to it, that’s what the manager wanted. I know it was Will Smallbone [who crossed] but Matt Doherty set him up. It’s a wing back to wing back, getting in the box and choosing the right time to do it, and having cover and balance behind the ball. That’s what he brought me in for, to be a threat and get on the end of things.”
It's what he has been doing for Cardiff all season, to his credit. With Steve Morison having insisted that O'Dowda had been brought in as a winger, not as a wing-back, it's been a case of needs must this term with Cardiff's struggles at full-back well documented.
But sources at the club before Sabri Lamouchi's was appointed believed this is where O'Dowda's long-term future lay. They believed that if O'Dowda was to achieve his dream of playing in the Premier League, he would be more likely to do so as a full-back or wing-back than as a winger. Indeed, we were told O'Dowda was really enjoying the shift to the wing-back role.
O'Dowda is 27 now and, by his own admission, hitting his peak years. If he is to play top-tier football in this country, he will likely either have to earn promotion with Cardiff or catch the eye of a Premier League club with his performances.
With the injury hell of recent years firmly in the past, O'Dowda is ready to really make his mark.
“I have been quite unlucky with injuries and form as well but I feel right now that I should be hitting the heights of my ability. I am 27 years old," he added.
"It does knock your confidence but I never lost that belief in myself. Even when I was injured, credit to Stephen Kenny he still called me to ask how I was getting on with my rehab. Especially my hamstring injuries. Full credit to him.
"I never lost hope. It did affect me at club level, I've played almost 300 games but I feel I should have more. I am delighted I am on 26 (caps) now for Ireland, obviously the more caps the better.
"I guess it is just building on it. The club is really important as well but for me the international stage is the biggest thing in my eyes just to be a part of it all and contributing. It has been a journey,”
O'Dowda went on to say that his goals contribution for club and country had not been good enough in recent years and is an aspect of his game he wants to address, regardless of position. He has three goals and three assists for the Bluebirds so far this term.
But perhaps he will get the opportunity to do that next season, because City have forgotten man Jamilu Collins coming back into the fold next term.
Collins was a surprise package at the start of the season and his pre-season showings, as well as his first three league outings for the Bluebirds, endeared him to City fans to no end. Indeed, WhoScored still have him as Cardiff's top performer this season with an average rating of 7.33. Of course, it's only a small sample size.
Cardiff have looked far better in a 5-3-2 or 5-2-1-2 system under Lamouchi, but the early signs of Collins and O'Dowda's link-up at the the start of this season was incredibly exciting.
So, Lamouchi, if indeed he is here next season, has a serious headache to contend with next term, given he has two very good wing-back options and only one position for them, unless he changes shape.
But, by the sounds of it, Lamouchi doesn't see O'Dowda as a left-back, unlike Hudson and Kenny. Just last month, after the defeats by Luton Town and Hull City, the Frenchman said: "The qualities of Callum, they are more offensive than defensive, and we thought he could help us to score or assist and to create more.
"But they are two different players. I don't think Callum is a left-back. I don't think Jack (Simpson) is a left-back. So they are playing there just because we don't have the left-back at the moment. We need to find the right system, with the right players in that system."
Not having Collins available for the vast majority of this season has been a major blow for Cardiff. He showed fleetingly what he was capable of and after recovering from knee surgery, the Bluebirds hope they get the same player back next season.
If so, the thought of that left-hand-side partnership linking up once again is cause for huge optimism. It threatened to take the Championship by storm first time around but it is hoped they can reload that in August.
First, though, O'Dowda must continue his own white-hot form to help Cardiff consolidate their status as a Championship club.
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