Royals stopper discusses selection ahead of Lithuania and Italy outings…
It has been a sharp rise for Luke Southwood – just six weeks ago, he was handed a starting spot against Peterborough... he hasn’t looked back. And his performances have been richly rewarded with a call-up to the Northern Ireland senior squad.
The 23-year-old, who made just his 11th league appearance for Reading at Millwall in midweek, is elated to be handed a new opportunity on the international stage.
“I’m delighted, and just really looking forward to getting going!” Luke said.
“My mum’s mum was born in Northern Ireland, and I’ve got a lot of family that live there now so they’re all delighted as well.
“I found out about the interest not long after the Fulham game, but you don’t count you chickens with anything like that until you actually know.
“Then I got a phone-call from the manager, Ian Baraclough, and also from Roy Carroll who is the goalkeeper coach now. So once I’d spoken to them I was buzzing – delighted to get in, and really proud.
“It has been a whirlwind since I got my chance to play. And in this league games come thick and fast so you have to zone in and focus game to game – not too far ahead. So at the moment I’m just thinking about the next game ahead.”
It isn’t Southwood’s first involvement in international football.
He has five Under-20 caps for England to his name – and in 2017, he came back from South Korea with a winner’s medal as the Young Lions won the U20 World Cup.
But now he’ll be heading to Windsor Park, hoping to make his senior bow when Northern Ireland finish their World Cup qualifiers with a double-header of home fixtures in the upcoming international weekend – first against Lithuania, and then against European champions Italy.
“I went away with England at the youth ages – that will have given me some experience about what it’s like to go away and stuff like that,” he continued.
“But now I’m just really looking forward to making that step up to senior men’s football.
“One of the most exciting things about it is that it’s an opportunity to test myself against the best of the best. That’s really excited me – I want to go there and help the team, and bring that experience back here.
“I’m still a young goalkeeper – I want to use every game, whether that’s with Reading or Northern Ireland, as an opportunity to learn and get experience and to progress.”