Jackson Irvine

You know, best night's sleep I've ever had.

And two months later, I got my first start for the national team, as we just spoke about, and I scored that goal.

And I often think, you know, the midfielders that I was competing with at that time, Aaron Moy, Mike Milligan, Tom Rogic, Maslowongo, I think would have I have even got in that squad if I was playing in China.

You know, I'm not sure I would have.

And I think all those decisions led me to the path, you know, led me down to where I am now.

Yeah, three years later.

And, you know, you're training alone in a park in northeast England on your own for six months.

Yeah, yeah.

That was the reality for me after, you know, my contract at Hull expired and I had an option year, which they chose not to take.

And then you're sitting in limbo waiting for that next offer to come.

Obviously, it was an uncertain time in the world for everyone.

And, you know, professional football is not –

You know, it was much more difficult for everyone else in the world.

I'm absolutely sure of that.

You know, my wife at that time was a firefighter and she was dealing with, you know, far more serious things than the lack of a footballing contract.

But yeah, it was an incredibly tough mental challenge to try and stay fit, stay motivated to go, as I say, to a local park and train on your own for months on end, waiting for that phone call that kind of just didn't come.

Yeah.

Yeah, I remember it vividly.

It was in around October.

So I'd been out.