Scott Hogan is not here to watch and learn he wants to play. The Aston Villa striker began his first briefing as a Republic of Ireland international by making that clear.
Having secured his passport last month he’s one of three uncapped players to make the 32 man squad for the final World Cup qualifiers with Moldova and Wales.
The Hogan who hit the headlines last year is a far cry from the frustrated striker who keeps Villa’s bench warm, he’s started just three Championship games this season.
A point he brings up himself when asked what kind of what kind of impact he can make on the international stage:
"You don’t want to come and sit on the bench anywhere; I’m doing enough of that at Villa. You want to contribute and you can’t contribute set on the bench really. "
Hogan was born in Salford, but his father’s side is Irish and his grandparents hailed from Carlow. Growing up in the shadow of Old Trafford naturally Roy Keane was the 25-year-old’s idol.
A 90’s kid would’ve watched Keane and Co win the treble on 1999 and become a force in European football.
Working with Roy Keane is undoubtedly one of the most exciting things Hogan has done to date, he admits to being star struck when he bumped into the Irish icon on the flight over:
"I was a bit nervous meeting him. I met him getting on to the plane actually and it is a bit of a shock.
"But at the end of the day he is here to help, so you have got to get over that. I was a bit star-struck to be honest with you but you get over it. Well, sort of.
"It's quite interesting to say Roy Keane is teaching you how to play football."
Hogan qualifies to play for England and after an initial delay in declaring his interest in Ireland it was feared that he may opt to represent the country of his birth.
The striker admits Keane could’ve dispelled the doubt by simply picking up the phone:
"I remember saying to my family, 'If Roy Keane rang, I don't think I'd know what to say, I don't think I'd be able to say no regardless of what state I was in'.
"When I met up with the manager a few weeks back and I said that to him, he said, 'If I'd have known that, I'd have told him to ring you straight away'.
"For me for anyone, really just to work with him, in terms of Irish players who have gone over to England and won things, he's got to be right up there for what he has done in football and Manchester United.
"I don't hide the fact I'm a big Manchester United fan. I grew up when United won everything, so I was lucky.
"I was born 10 minutes from the ground, so for me, it was Roy Keane. My dad was Roy Keane, Denis Irwin, but I was without a shadow of doubt Roy Keane.
"Obviously Eric Cantona was the king, as they called him. I was a bit young, but I watched the videos of people like him. But I actually grew up watching Roy Keane.
"I remember watching when they beat Juventus in Turin and he was banned for the final, and it was just. My dad was telling me how incredible it was.
"You won't see many things like that happen on a pitch, so it was definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, Roy Keane was my idol."
