Ireland's Jayson Molumby has claimed there is no longer a hiding place for the Irish team when it comes to performing in an Irish jersey.
The Irish team will take on England at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, representing a fresh start for the players under new manager Heimir Hallgrimsson.
The Boys in Green have been represented by a younger core under Stephen Kenny, but now a number of Kenny's youngsters are well-established players in the squad.
Molumby has quashed the notion that youth is an excuse for poor performances, adding that the time to produce is now.
"Yeah, definitely, there are no more excuses for us anymore," said Molumby to RTE Sport
"We were young lads coming in, but now we’ve got the experience. It's not good enough anymore to say, 'Ah, you’re young or whatever, you know.' We're experienced now at international level. It’s time to kick on for us."
A few weeks ago, Hallgrimsson spoke about finding "b*****d" in the Irish team, adding that the need to be less nice would be key.
Molumby, who is fond of a yellow card for his club West Bromwich Albion, was also sent off in a pre-season friendly recently. He was asked if he could be the "b*****d" in question and said that only the new Irish manager can decide that.
"Na, I don’t think so," said Molumby when asked if he was the "b*****d" that Hallgrimsson was seeking.
"I don’t know where that came from. Only he knows. I don’t even know how to answer that."
Jayson Molumby (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)The most recent clash between the sides was at Wembley in 2020 in a friendly, which Gareth Southgate’s England side won 3-0. This was during Covid, with no fans in attendance. However Molumby believes the Irish fans will make a difference this time.
"There were no fans the last time against England, so this will be a lot different," said Molumby.
"Playing at home at the Aviva will always be difficult for away teams. We saw that against top teams like France and Holland. We competed well in those games, and for us as a group,, we need to start taking the next step. Competing isn’t enough anymore; we want to actually start getting points, hopefully starting on Saturday."
Ireland will begin their campaign on September 7 against England in a League B, Group B2 match. Following this, on September 10, they will take on Greece. The team will then travel to Finland for their next fixture on October 10. Just three days later, on October 13, Ireland will face Greece again, this time away.
Their penultimate match will be on November 14, when they host Finland. Finally, Ireland will conclude their group stage on November 17 with a match against England.
Republic of Ireland Squad: England & Greece
Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth), Max O'Leary (Bristol City).
Defenders: Seamus Coleman (Everton), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Jake O'Brien (Everton), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Liam Scales (Celtic), Callum O'Dowda (Cardiff City), Robbie Brady (Preston North End).
Midfielders: Will Smallbone (Southampton), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Alan Browne (Sunderland), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Kasey McAteer (Leicester City).
Attackers: Adam Idah (Celtic), Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town), Callum Robinson (Cardiff City), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar).
UEFA Nations League: Fixtures
07/09: Ireland vs. England, Aviva Stadium, 5pm
10/09: Ireland vs. Greece, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm
