With Nathan Collins hoping to follow up his goalscoring exploits for Republic of Ireland during another Euro 2024 qualifier this evening versus Gibraltar, the defender has spoken about his love of representing his country.
The international period marks the start of a busy summer for Collins, who will be reuniting with his Wolves teammates in a few weeks’ time as preparations begin for the new 2023/24 Premier League season, including a 11-day tour to South Korea.
On off-season plans
“I don’t have many plans for the summer to be fair. I’ll be going home to Ireland for a week or so, but we also have a lot of international games with the national team, so I’ll rest up for that, go again there with them, and then be back in Wolves before I know it!”
On being part of the Ireland national squad
“I’m really looking forwards to joining up with the lads again. There’s nothing better than representing your country and playing for your country.
“It means so much to me and the fans always give me a lot of encouragement and I thrive off their positivity and they make me feel confident in myself. I really enjoy playing for Ireland and I’m really looking for the games.”
On heading to Korea with Wolves
“I’ve never been to South Korea before, so that will be a new experience for me, so I’m really excited for that. It’s going to be a great opportunity because I would probably never have gone to South Korea if it wasn’t for football, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’ve never actually been to the far east before, this will be my first time there, but I really like exploring new cultures and learning a lot about the countries I visit, so I’m really excited for that tour.”
South Korea, we'll see you this summer! 🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/foduJbsKwh
— Wolves (@Wolves) May 11, 2023
On taking tips from Hwang
“Channy should know where the best places to go are and he should have a lot of pull over there because they adore him, so we’re looking forward to it. He’s a big name in Korea, so has a lot to live up to!
“I’m going to try everything to be fair, I’m ready to accept the whole culture and just look forward to being a part of it and try to really enjoy it.”
On the importance of pre-season
“Hopefully we can have a good pre-season and that will help drive us forward into next season. We all realise how hard this league is now and it’s getting harder and harder each year.
“We have to drive it in pre-season and get ready to go again once August comes around.”
