Andrews aiming to stake claim

Mary Hannigantalks to a player who has made rapid progress since his move from MK Dons last summer

A YEAR AND two days ago Keith Andrews was lining out for MK Dons in a League Two game (fourth division, in old money) at Chester City, in front of 3,102 people. Now? He's a Premier League footballer, he's been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad by Giovanni Trapattoni and is hopeful of coming off the bench tonight at Croke Park to make his senior international debut.

Does he have to pinch himself these days?

"A little bit, yeah," he laughs.

It's eight years since the Dubliner made his debut for Wolves, the club he joined as a teenager and where Robbie Keane was one of several Irish team-mates in the youth set-up. Loan spells at Oxford United, Stoke City and Walsall followed, before moves to Hull City and, then, Milton Keynes Dons. After eight years largely spent in the middle or lower reaches of the English league, Andrews' hopes of playing at the highest level, for club or country, were fast fading.

Enter Paul Ince. "It's fair to say he has been a massive influence," says the 28-year-old, who, under the guidance of the former England midfielder, captained MK Dons to promotion last season, was named League Two Player of the Year, and then followed his manager to Blackburn Rovers in August.

"I have a hell of a lot to be grateful to him for, I have learned a lot from him," he says. "He would have been part of that crop of players I looked up to, especially playing in my position. He was one of those players you would aspire to be, in the same bracket as Roy Keane and people like that."

Ironically, Ince was partly responsible for Andrews' decision in 2005 to call quits on his time at Wolves, "he couldn't get in the side because I was playing," as Ince put it himself. "But he is a fantastic player. His attitude has always been spot on but he needed some guidance and I think, when I went to MK Dons, he got that."

Fate, then, linked the pair again, this time Ince's effect on Andrews' career proving to be a hugely beneficial one. "On the whole you do earn your own luck and you've got to do things right over a prolonged period of time," says Andrews, "so maybe I was due a little bit of a break. I'm obviously delighted because of it.

"But yeah, I do have to pinch myself a little bit. You do have to put things into perspective, but at the same time it can be taken away in a flash so you have got to be grateful and enjoy it. I sit down after games and reflect on them, on how well I have been doing and how quickly things have been moving. It is a big step up (to the Premier League), but I feel I've taken it in my stride and have done quite well so far."

And in another twist of fate it was partly the season-ending injury to his new club-mate Steven Reid that gave Andrews a chance to show Trapattoni his worth. "I do genuinely feel sorry for Steven. He was the one who made me feel more welcome than anyone at Blackburn, he's a top fella and a top player as well.

"He's going to be out for a hell of a long time, I'm not sure of the timescale but he's got a long road to recovery - but he is the type of personality to deal with that. We talk all the time, we get on very well, we have become good friends since I've been there. He's someone I feel really sorry for but, yeah, it has opened the door for a midfield spot in the Irish set-up. It's one I will be doing everything I can to get."

Having been capped at under-18 level for Ireland Andrews is hoping to complete the most successful year of his career with a senior appearance. "The B international (against Nottingham Forest last month) came at a fantastic time for me personally, it was ideal. It gave me a chance to show all of the staff here what I could do and, thankfully, they were impressed with what they saw.

"It shows he (Trapattoni) is open-minded, that he doesn't really care about reputations, what people have done or haven't done in their careers. I was playing League Two last year, all of a sudden I'm in the Premier League. I've only been there for a couple of months, but it doesn't seem to bother him. He treats people as he finds them, which is good for me."

"To earn my place in the international side has been a big ambition of mine for years; to get a cap against Poland would be a fantastic achievement and one I'd be very proud of."