“I believe that after that, I would have been somewhat lost psychologically, possibly a year or two early. It would have had a negative impact on me. I believe I’m proud of the way I responded, dealt with it, and moved on.

I simply went back to the fundamentals, won my little battles, made my little passes, and did those things correctly to get back into the game. It impacts you and is obviously annoying. I know that the people in this group will defend me and take care of me, and they did.

The defender, who is wearing the captain’s armband for the fourth straight game without Séamus Coleman, says he will try to lead the squad whether or not he is captain.

The 23-year-old Leixlip man stated, “I’ve always seen myself and my style of play is that I’ll always try to be a leader.”

Because of who I was, Nathan Jones appointed me captain of Stoke when I was eighteen. Though I may have changed somewhat physically, I don’t think I’ve changed much psychologically since then. Because I’m wearing an armband, I doubt that my style will ever change. If I have it or not, I will always be the same player. I’ll constantly make an effort to lead, be upbeat, support, and interact with others. Why would I alter what I already know how to do?

Collins said that the players had a difficult conversation among themselves following September’s home loss to Greece last month, prior to Ireland’s first away victory in the Nations League against Finland. He added: We’ve been talking about how much

“I suppose we learnt a lot from the Finland game. We probably didn’t get off to the best start in Greece (lost 2-0 last month), but you could tell in the second half that there was hope that we could win.

“I think we’ve been having trouble believing we can win games lately, especially beating Finland on the road after falling behind. That added something new to the team.”

“There is a lot of belief in there today, and there is a lot to build upon. We haven’t experienced this feeling in a long time. Therefore, I believe that bringing that into this camp will be beneficial.

With Sunday’s glamorous match versus England at Wembley coming up, Collins’ entire attention is

“I haven’t considered it yet; Finland, the world’s largest game, is my only source of inspiration. After that, England will be the world’s most important game. You make an effort not to look too far ahead.

It’s another building brick, in my opinion. We weren’t at our best at the first camp, but you could see our progress and what we are capable of at the last one. I believe we have advanced to a new level during this camp, and everyone has become even more committed to it.

As he reflected on his experience watching his friend rise through the ranks over ten years ago, Collins has partnered Celtic’s Liam Scales in the centre of the Irish defence for each of the previous two games.

Since I was 14, I’ve watched Scalesy perform. With Scales expected to earn his eighth cap tonight, Collins grinned. “He played centre-back at UCD with my brother (Josh).”

“His aggressiveness and skill with the ball were always evident to me. You will never forget his hair either! He always has the traits of a good player as he progressed through the League of Ireland and got his move. He has been incredibly patient. He is a great guy overall and a credit to himself.

“He’s taking it by the scruff of the neck, and he deserves this.” I am confident that he will win his headers if I give him the ball. Having someone like that playing next to me makes my life easier.

Collins will be hoping for a simpler night’s work here before Wembley beckons after going through a range of emotions against the Finns last month.