Ben Symes

If you're training with them week in, week out,

You're showing them you have the tools, you're capable and you're nearly ready to play senior men's first team football at a good level.

Go to the continent.

Whether it's Hoffenheim, whether it's another club in Germany, which again, I've advocated for a million times, go to a club in Germany.

I just cannot see what's wrong with that move.

The worst thing that happens is another team in the second division or third division will buy you.

and you have another chance to go again.

Like we've seen what's happening with Conor Noss at the moment, where he's thriving now on the continent, where it didn't work out for him.

But you're giving yourself an opportunity for a move up again.

If you fail at a club in the Premier League as a young Irish player, your next move is League One.

There's going to be a weight of expectation of you at League One because you're coming from

I also think... I understand that Galbert Ayrton, he's an excellent footballer, smash footballer.

I've watched him since.

I think it's very different when you're a striker and you're a central fielder.

And I think if you're a striker and you drop down to League One and the goals don't start coming in quickly, fans are on your back in an instant.

There's not that pressure when you're on the continent that the goals don't come in as quick.

We've seen it so often.

I always...

back to Evan Ferguson's loan spell at West Ham and I was actually there at his first game against Brentford and he nearly scores five minutes in and the fans start going he's not bad this guy like you know and then he nearly scores again and again but he doesn't and then he doesn't score in the next game and then he's dropped and it's that confidence thing and then everyone at West Ham

who is going there week in, week out, automatically has the opinion of, this guy can't find the back of the net.