Chiedozie Ogbene aiming to keep imrpoving as he seeks to hold down Ireland spot

Chiedozie Ogbene says he's not taking his Republic of Ireland career for granted as the Rotherham United forward prepares for the upcoming friendlies with Norway and Malta.

Ogbene, who made his senior international debut 18 months ago against Andorra, has gone on to earn 11 caps, scoring three goals in that time, and becoming a real favourite under manager Stephen Kenny.

Added to that he's played 18 games at club level this season, finding the back of the net six times after recovering from a hamstring strain.

After Wigan's Will Keane and Birmingham City's Scott Hogan withdrew from the squad earlier this week due to injuries, the former Cork City player is even more likely to see game time on Thursday against the Norwegians, as Kenny attempts to fine tune his potential options ahead of next year's European Championship qualifier campaign.

But Ogbene says that the trajectory of Jamie McGrath shows how quickly you can fall out of favour after a spell in the green jersey.

The former Dundalk winger was also a regular in Kenny's squads while playing with St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership. A deadline day move to Wigan in January then saw him play just four games in total for the Latics - between League One, EFL Cup and FA Cup - and this led his exclusion from Kenny's plans.

He's back in the squad now, but only after returning to Scotland with a loan move to Dundee United.

"From the first day I've always said how privileged I am to be in this position," Ogbene said on Tuesday afternoon.

"Many players miss out and I'm here. We're all working so hard to be where we are today. You never take this position for granted because I've seen players come here and not come back again.

"To be called upon is a huge honour for me and I take it