Will Smallbone in country over club mode ahead of Greece gig

What's rare is wonderful; and Will Smallbone is certainly enjoying an extended spell away from the trials and tribulations of club football, as he works towards being involved in the Republic of Ireland’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifying double-header.

The Southampton midfielder is currently in Turkey embedded in Stephen Kenny’s squad, who are enjoying a nine-day, hot-weather training camp ahead of their away game against Greece in Athens next week.

And while Smallbone is very much a novice at this level, he already has some happy moments in the senior green jersey to look back on as he attempts to impress the manager and become an integral part of the remainder of the campaign.

The 23-year-old made his senior debut in the March international friendly against Latvia, and to add to the occasion, the playmaking midfielder ended the game with a win and the player of the match award following an excellent first outing for his country.

"It's quite rare on the international stage to get such a long time together," said Smallbone, speaking on a media call from the Turkish training camp on Wednesday.

"We have a lot of people coming in from different clubs and it's important that we all get back to understanding each other and training with each other. So this 10 or 11 days will put us in good stead going into the game in Greece.

"It's such a long break for us from the end of the Championship season to the game, but the lads here with Ireland have bene fantastic with us, giving us plans to go away over the start of the off-season and then we had the camp in Bristol, which I thought was very beneficial for me and for everyone else to get back up to speed."

Smallbone came through the Southampton academy and broke into the first team in 2020,