Video: Green hoping for competitive debut

Paul Green may be handed his first ever international competitive start on Yerevan on Friday. Keith Andrews' groin injury means the Derby County player should slot in beside Glenn Whelan in the middle of midfield. Video by Peter O'Doherty, Article by Frankie Lally



The 27-year-old burst onto the international scene in May when he was called into Giovanni Trapattoni's training camp for the games with Algeria and Paraguay.

Since then the midfielder has been handed a start against Argentina, when Whelan was ruled out and looks the preferred option over Darren Gibson who has not had much playing time for Manchester United.

Green knows better than anyone just how far he has come – from non-league football with Doncaster Rovers to the possibility of starting a Euro 2012 qualifier with Armenia.

“It would be a fantastic achievement for me. Just being around the set-up is great experience and if I get the chance to start I’ll be loving it.

“Eight years ago I was playing in the conference and to get to international football is a dream and to play for your country is an even better achievement,” he insisted.

“It's come pretty fast, through the training camp and then getting a couple of starts against Paraguay and Algeria and then getting a start against Argentina which was a tough game but a great achievement for me.”

Despite not playing a competitive game for Ireland, Green doesn't think this will affect his mindset going into the game, insisting he will treat it the same way he has done in his previous international games.

“The gaffer has always drilled into our heads that there are no friendlies in this game, even for the Paraguay and Algeria games. That's what he's been like for the camps I’ve been in and it's been the same for this one.”