Josh Cullen: 'My aim is to become a regular mainstay in the Irish midfield'

Ireland midfielder Josh Cullen was not worried that his move to Belgium would affect his place in the national squad and was reassured by Stephen Kenny that he would be keeping a close eye on Cullen when he moved to Anderlecht last October.

Cullen spoke to the media ahead of Ireland’s friendly against Andorra tomorrow, and after a positive year in Belgium, finishing third and making 31 appearances, the midfielder reflected on his season and looked ahead to the two upcoming friendlies.

“He reassured me that just because you’re playing in Belgium and out of the UK that he’d be keeping a close eye on me, so it wasn’t going to affect me in any way at all.

“It’s something I’d definitely advise other players to do, think outside the box and look further afield.”

Speaking about the differences between Belgian and English football, and how a move to the continent can help mature you as a player as well as a person, Cullen said, “I don’t think there’s a massive difference. People think it’s tippy-tappy football and slow paced.

“It’s definitely not. You come up against teams that play all types of football.

“I really enjoyed my season with Anderlecht, I found I easy to adapt and it’s been brilliant for me. I have learned a lot about the game under Kompany and his staff.

“I’ve definitely grown up off the pitch and I believe that stands you in good stead to perform well and become a leader on the pitch.”

Touching on the new arrivals into the camp, with Danny Mandroiu, Jamie McGrath, Chiedoze Ogbene and Andrew Omabamidele all earning their first call ups, Cullen said:

“we have a new group with some new faces, this camp will give us a good period to learn about each other as players and people.

“But individually I want to feature in both games and impress the manager. My aim is to become a regular mainstay in the Irish midfield.

“Of course, as a team we want to come away with two victories, that’s what we’re desperate for as a group and as a nation”.

With Ireland currently winless in their last 11 games, and World Cup qualification all but out of reach, Cullen admitted that the squad need to start producing results as well as positive performances.

“We need to turn good performances into results, we’re close with some of the recent performances as a group, but it’s down to us to fine tune the fine details and be ruthless in both boxes.

“It is something we have a great opportunity to work on this week. There’s no mental block from not winning games, definitely not. We’re fully focused on the next two games and go in full of confidence”.