FOUR YEARS AGO, Shane Duffy made a promise to himself.
The young defender watched on with envy as Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland team prepared for Euro 2012 and swore that he would do everything in his power to be a part of the country’s next appearance at a major tournament.
“I was just sitting watching it,” Duffy recalls. “I made it a target to try get to the next one and get some football under my belt. I’ve done that the last couple of seasons and I’m happy how it’s going at the minute but there’s still a lot to come.
“I probably wasn’t ready four years ago. I was sat there watching the lads and you want to go out and represent your country. I said I want to try my best to get to the next one, and if not I’ll try get to the one after that. So touch wood I can be there.”
Derry native Duffy, a former Ireland U21 captain, had got his first taste of the senior set-up after replacing the injured Richard Dunne in the squad for a friendly with the Czech Republic that February.
However, he would have to wait another two years before making his debut — in an end-of-season game with Costa Rica in the US.
At club level, the centre-half was knocking on the door of Everton’s first team following loan spells at Burnley, Scunthorpe and Yeovil Town, but the opportunities never came and Duffy agreed to drop down to the Championship to join Blackburn Rovers in September 2014.
That has proved an excellent move as Duffy established himself at the heart of the Rovers defence over the past two seasons. It prompted a call-up for the double-header with Switzerland and Slovakia in March, where the 24-year-old won man-of-the-match in the 1-0 victory over the Swiss.
Now, with 20 days to go until Euro 2016 gets underway, he is odds-on to make the final 23-man squad.
Despite having just two senior caps to his name, Duffy is one of four centre-halves who remain (along with John O’Shea, Ciaran Clark and Richard Keogh) after Paul McShane and Alex Pearce were told their services weren’t needed yesterday on top of news that Marc Wilson has been ruled out with an aggravated knee injury.
It would be a dream come true to go to a major tournament,” explains Duffy. “It’s what you want to do when you’re a professional footballer. I’ve still got a bit of work to do so it’s head down, try focus and see what happens.
“The squad is still nowhere near being picked and I’ve just got to try my best this week. If the manager decides to take the four of us I’ll be delighted but I’m still a long way away. It’s a big week for me and hopefully I can do well.”
Whatever happens over the next month, Duffy will count himself lucky as his outlook on life changed dramatically back in 2010 when he suffered a freak accident during a match between an Ireland development squad and the Irish amateur team.
A collision with goalkeeper Adrian Walsh left him needing life-saving surgery at the Mater Hospital after losing 3.6 litres of blood due to liver laceration.
I appreciate everything after it,” he says. “It has been six years since it happened and to be back in the fold is a proud feeling for me and my family.
“It’s not just that, it’s being back playing on the pitch and everything in life really. I look at everything a bit different after that. It took me awhile to get going again.”
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
