WORLD CUP 2010 PLAY-OFF:CONSIDERING HOW far he's come since his unwelcome brush with reality television three years ago, Seán St Ledger is able to laugh now about the experience. Back then, though, he worried that his reputation had suffered irreparable damage, that he'd be marked down as a troublemarker with an attitude, and that his prospects at club level would evaporate. International football? That wasn't even close to being on the St Ledger radar.
Now, as he looks ahead to the World Cup qualifying play-off against France, he admits there’s a certain “pinch-yourself” quality to it all, his confidence well and truly restored by the faith Giovanni Trapattoni has placed in him. He has, he says, come a long way.
On the Sky series Big Ron Manager, where Ron Atkinson’s troubleshooting efforts at Peterborough were documented, St Ledger came over as the resident bad boy, his sometimes petulant clashes with manager Steve Bleasdale giving a less than favourable impression of the then 21-year-old.
It felt, he said, like he was in Big Brother, complaining at the time that selective editing was responsible for showing him in such a bad light. On reflection, though, he views it as an invaluable, if unpleasant, wake-up call.
“From what I’ve heard it definitely damaged me at the time, but that’s fair enough. If you see someone on TV not being on their best behaviour you might think he’s not a great sort of lad, but I’ve learnt from that. Maybe being on TV was a good thing. It wasn’t nice to watch, it was cringeful, and it wasn’t nice for my mum and dad, but I learnt from it and I’ve moved on.
“I’ve grown up, I think, which is the main thing from it all. It was a learning curve. Now I just want to carry on improving and hopefully be the best player I can be.”
As it proved, St Ledger’s career suffered no long-term damage, his form with Preston, who he joined from Peterborough, earning him four player-of-the-year awards. In September he joined Middlesbrough, where Gordon Strachan has since replaced Gareth Southgate as manager.
It’s Trapattoni, though, who he credits with giving him the belief that he can be a “decent” player. “He’s given me a run in the team and that’s given me massive confidence. He’s been there, he’s got the experience, when you look at the jobs he’s had he’s one of the world’s best. So I’m very fortunate to be in the squad. He’s picked me, he’s given me an opportunity, he’s given me confidence.
“And I’ve just learnt loads from playing with these players, especially Richard (Dunne). He makes my life easy. He’s a proper centre-half, he leads from the front, he wins all his headers, he’s strong, he’s quick, he’s everything a centre-half should be. I just have to look at him and the way he conducts himself in games.
“It has, of course, been a big step for me. I’ve played in the Championship now for three or four seasons, I know what to expect, whereas in internationals you never really know what’s going to happen. It’s just a different world really.
“But strange as it seems, I probably actually prefer international football. The Championship is quite a physical league, everything seems to come at you at 100 miles an hour. In the international games it doesn’t always seem to be so fast, obviously the attacks are quick but the players pick their moments. You just have to be mindful of strikers making runs, concentration would be the main difference. That’s something the boss and the staff have drummed in to me. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, it’s a great stage to play on, and these two games will be the biggest of my career.”
Coming up against attacking players of the quality of Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry and Karim Benzema will, he says, be both frightening and exciting, but it’s a challenge he insists he relishes.
“Without a doubt, it’s a daunting prospect, but at the same time I look forward to it, I look forward to testing myself, I want to improve and this is the way to do it. Whether or not I’ll be able to handle them only time will tell, but I have to convince myself that I can do it.
“But there’s pressure on everybody, not just me. There’s no getting around it, these are huge games, it’s a play-off to qualify for the greatest football tournament. As a footballer you want to play in these kind of games, games on the big stage in front of 80,000 people in Dublin and in Paris.”
Will you sleep well on Friday night? “I hope so – I don’t fancy marking those players on two hours’ sleep.”
