Lee Grace is ready to soldier on through Shamrock Rovers’ congested fixture list - because he could only dream of playing European group stage football during his days in the army.
The Hoops will have a busy time between now and the end of the season, as they combine their title charge with an extended continental campaign.
But centre-half Grace isn’t complaining.
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He served in the army while playing for Wexford and said: “I joined when I was 20 and left when I was 23 or 24 to sign for Galway.
“That was full-time. So I started in the army and then went into full-time football with Galway.
“I obviously came to the party late and was playing a bit of catch-up.
“But look, I’m always working hard and hopefully I’m putting myself in good positions to get into these games.
“Obviously when Rovers came calling to Galway, we were halfway through the season and at the time it was a tough decision to leave.
“But looking back now it was one of the best decisions I ever made.”
He joined Rovers in the summer of 2017 - at the height of Dundalk and Cork City’s dominance - so the prospect of group stage football seemed a long way away.
“Obviously at the time we were fourth, maybe third, trying to push Cork and Dundalk,” he said.
“But I knew the gaffer (Stephen Bradley) was trying to build something and get the right players in, and you could see it over the years as it was building.
“But when I first came in the door I never expected this - to be playing in a knockout game to get into the Europa League with group stage football already wrapped up.
“It’s dream stuff, but I feel like we are here on merit, we deserve to be here.
“We’ll give it a good rattle in Tallaght next week (against Ferencvaros) after we take care of business on Sunday (against Dundalk), hopefully.
“But we’ll give it a good rattle and see what happens.”
The Europa League looks to be well out of Rovers’ reach after Thursday’s 4-0 first-leg play-off defeat to Hungarian giants Ferencvaros.
But the consolation prize of Europa Conference League group stage football is a considerable one for Grace and his teammates.
“For me, on a personal level, walking out (in the first-leg) as captain into that crowd in that stadium, representing this club, it’s a dream,” he said.
“We are so close to the Europa League but we have the Conference League - that was always a dream of mine to get to the group stages in Europe.
“Walking out was a very proud moment for me and my family. I’m sure all the boys will say the same.
“I know looking back, it was a very tough night, but in a few years’ time when we look back on it all, these will be the nights we’ll remember.”
Grace is hopeful that Rovers’ group stage qualification won’t be a one-off - but he knows they have to take care of business on the home front to maximise their chances in Europe.
They face second-placed Dundalk this evening knowing that a win would open up a seven-point gap at the top - with a game-in-hand over the Lilywhites.
“You don’t want this to be a one-off, because these are the best nights in football,” he said of Rovers’ European campaign.
“These are the ones you remember looking back in a few years.
“So that’s why Sunday is so important. You can see when you win the league, the Champions League route is massive.
“You see Derry, this year they got a tough draw in the first round of the Conference League and, bang, it’s over. That’s it.
“So I think Sunday is absolutely massive. I’m sure we’ll be ready, I’m sure Dundalk will be ready and we’re looking forward to it.”
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