Club boss Clough is a keen admirer. After the striker made his international debut, Clough said: “To leave Conor on all game is the biggest compliment the manager could pay him. On your debut, you usually get about 60 or 70 minutes and then a pat on the back.

“To leave Conor on and against good opposition shows how well he did. He gave the ball away late on and chased back 60 yards and won a throw-in. That sums up Conor. We have seen that honesty and appetite for hard work all season. It is the main thing that attracted us to him.”

Although Sammon has yet to get on the scoresheet in his seven caps to date, the Malahide man played an important role in getting Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign back on track.

Most notably he won a penalty, converted by Jon Walters, in the 2-2 draw against Austria in March. He then unselfishly teed up Robbie Keane to seal his hat-trick in the 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands earlier this month, having also provided the assist for his skipper in the 4-0 friendly win against Georgia five days previously.

Keane said:  “Conor came on against the Faroes and set up another goal for me, so that was two from two games. He’s very effective. He’s so big but he’s also quick. Against the Faroes, a player had 10 yards on him out on the right wing but he caught him. I didn’t realise how fast he was until then.

“Height-wise, he is like Niall Quinn but they are completely different. Because he’s tall, people look at Conor as a target-man but he has pace as well. With the two goals he set up for me, he showed that he’s got that in his locker as well.”

But perhaps the highlight of the 26-year-old’s brief international career to date came in Ireland’s last outing, the New York friendly defeat against Spain earlier this month. Although the World and European champions ran out 2-0 winners, Ireland’s performance provided some encouragement for the future with Sammon’s physical presence proving a nuisance for the Spanish defence.

In one break, he muscled unsuspecting Barcelona star Gerard Pique off the ball to create a chance out of nothing. Although Sammon’s subsequent shot let him down, Keane was once again impressed with his efforts and said:  ”Conor was a handful. I don’t think Pique knew what hit him when the two of them went down the line. It was a good experience for Conor coming in against these players.”

Another man to have gained vital experience last season is Sammon’s Pride Park team-mate Keogh. Having signed from Coventry City last summer, he was immediately handed the captain’s armband by Clough and went on to make 49 first-team appearances for his new club over the course of the season.

Like Sammon, Keogh is also 26 and a also a late bloomer on the international stage. His first taste of football at that level was his brief cameo role against Poland, having come on as a late substitute for Ciaran Clark. The Essex-born centre-half had to wait until June to add to his international appearances but in doing so, he capped off his first Ireland start with a goal in the win over Georgia.

After the game, Keogh beamed:  “It couldn’t have gone any better really. Great to get a first start and show the manager what I can do. To top it off with a goal, I’m over the moon. Every since I’ve been involved I’ve been made to feel very welcome. I’m buzzing.”

But one of the brightest prospects for both Derby County and for Ireland is undoubtedly Hendrick. Still just 21, the Dubliner now has four caps to his name and has already made 91 first-team appearances for the Rams.

Having established himself as a first-team regular at club level, the former St Kevin’s Boys starlet it tipped to do likewise for Ireland in the future, but he is keeping his feet on the ground.

He explained: “International football is different to the Championship. You are playing against better players and if you do give the ball away, you are more likely to be punished. So you have to maintain possession all the time really and there are times you can get away with it in the Championship but that is less the case in international football.

“I thought I’d be staying with the Ireland Under-21s so I’m just happy Trapattoni gave me the chance. I just want to keep trying to get into the squad and keep trying to improve my game.

“Everyone dreams of doing that when you are younger, that is what you always want to do but I didn’t think it would come this quickly. Hopefully, I can get a few more games and keep improving my game and see where that takes me.”

TRAVELLING FROM DERBY FOR THE GAME?

Our good friends at the Temple Bar Hotel have joined us in welcoming Derby County supporters to Dublin.

The hotel, with an unrivaled location in the very heart of Dublin city centre, is providing special weekend bed and breakfast rates for the travelling Rams of €95 per single room and €125 per double room.

To make a reservation, please contact the Temple Bar Hotel at reservations@tbh.ie or call +353 1 677 3333 – and make sure to mention you’re coming to Dublin for the Bohs game!

Nestled in the most vibrant area of city centre bars, restaurants and nightclubs, and close to all major bus and rail links in the city, this hotel offers every possible amenity on its doorstep.

Dublin’s most popular shopping streets – Grafton St and Henry St – are both within short walking distance, while the city’s most popular tourist attractions are accessible by foot and by bus/Luas.

And that’s not all… The Temple Bar Hotel not only has a great location, but offers guests full entertainment facilities all under one roof! Check out www.buskersbar.com & www.alchemyclub.ie for more details.

Produced by Peter O’Doherty (podproductions.ie).
Interview by Robert O’Reardon.
Intro by Ray O’Hanlon.

At Bohemians, ‘Pico’ progressed rapidly, becoming captain of the under-20s while still 18. In that team, he enjoyed two highpoints of his still-short career, when he led Bohemians to an extra-time defeat of Shamrock Rovers in the Leinster Senior Cup in 2011, and was called up to the Republic of Ireland under-19 squad in the same year.

“We fielded a reserve side and Rovers had a really strong team. On paper we had no right to win the game. It was a very special moment.

“To be called up to the under-19 international team came as a shock. I was told to be on standby and I didn’t really think more about it. But, with people dropping out through injuries, I got a call and had to move quickly. It was a great experience to see how things are done at that level. Once you get the taste for it you want more.”

Lopes has made occasional appearances at left-back and in midfield but this season he has appeared consistently alongside Owen Heary or Stephen Paisley in the centre of defence, “my most comfortable position”.

In pre-season interviews, manager Aaron Callaghan expressed confidence that Lopes would make a major step-up in 2013. “I have to take it as a compliment that the manager gives me praise like that,” says Lopes. “But if he has that faith in me, I have to pay him back for it.”

Lopes believes Bohemians can no longer seek shelter in the view of Callaghan’s team as a young side. “That label is an easy way to make excuses for ourselves. There are other teams, like Cork, that are also young. We need to grow up fast and move forward as quickly as we can.”

He has “mixed feelings” about the team’s performance so far this season. “We have got off to a better start than last year and picked up more points but we have taken two bad defeats to Sligo and Derry, with bad performances.

“But we can feel ourselves growing and with the experience of those two defeats behind us, we can build again.”

Being often in the last line of defence before the goalkeeper, Lopes may be in the spotlight more than others when errors lead to goals. “There have been errors that have cost us games that we might have won, or nicked a point in. We do go over these things and analyse them. Talking about it is the main way to make sure they don’t happen again.”

Lopes believes Bohemians “can push very close” to a European place, a Setanta Cup spot or a cup trophy. He has tasted cup success already this year with Dublin Institute of Technology, where he is a second-year student of leisure management currently on placement in the college as a sports officer. Lopes’s extra-time goal put DIT into the final of the CUFL (Colleges and Universities Football League) Premier League, where they defeated DCU.

“I value the education I am getting very highly and the football is a bonus. I don’t take it as seriously as the league football but we got on well as a squad and it was a great feeling to become champions, especially when there were really good teams like UCD and Carlow IT in the competition.”

Lopes’ commitment to Bohemians is part of a family contribution. His younger brother, Jacques, is a full-back with the under-19 team, and his chef father, Carlos, prepares the Thursday evening meal that the players and coaches enjoy together at Dalymount Park.

Through his dad, Lopes is eligible to play for Cape Verde, a country of half-a-million people that has reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations this year. The national team includes players in the Portuguese league and other leading European leagues, while those who might have declared for Cape Verde but have chosen Portugal include Nani and Eliseu.

Whatever about future international honours and affiliations, Lopes expresses his ambition in football clearly: “I just want to play at the highest level I can. If I can make a career out of it, and if that means getting an opportunity to play in England, that would be brilliant. But I am realistic with my goals. I just want to be playing football.”

The next challenge for Lopes will be keeping his place in the team when Owen Heary returns from injury. “That’s another improvement this season. We have good competition for places across the team, with two players for nearly every position. It keeps people on their toes.

“Obviously, with me being the youngest it would be easy to say I would be the first out. But it’s not really like that. If you keep up the effort in training, you’ll get your opportunity and it’s up to you to keep it.”

Speaking at Thursday’s launch of Karmann Volkswagen’s sponsorship of Bohemians, Lopes explained: “I wouldn’t say I’m feeling the pressure but they are definitely big boots to fill.

“Personally I see it as a big opportunity so it’s up to me now to step up and take it. I’m happy to see the two lads who left doing well because we’re still good mates.”

Lopes signed for the Gypsies four years ago under Pat Fenlon after a successful schoolboy career with Dublin side Belvedere. He then made his debut in the FAI Cup semi-final defeat against Sligo Rovers in 2010.

The 20-year-old has come on leaps and bounds since and this season he is ready to announce himself as a first-team regular at Dalymount Park – and mark it with a trophy too.

“We’re very ambitious this year,”  added Lopes. “We want to try and win a cup and I think we have every right to be ambitious this year – we’re aiming to finish in the top four too.

“The label of being a young squad can’t hang around forever so we need to be ambitious and go out and try to win something.

“We’re looking really sharp and we’ve had a good pre-season under us. Last year the preparation wasn’t the best at the start of the season. We had too many players and the squad wasn’t settled, but this year we have a good squad together.”

One man who has been vital in Lopes’ career so far is veteran defender and Gypsies captain Owen Heary.

And Lopes reckons he is learning a lot from the 36-year-old seven-time League of Ireland winner.

“Owen is fantastic. He really helps me out, especially being a defender. He has so much information he can give me and we’re good mates too on and off the pitch.

“If I could do half as well as him in my career I’d be doing well.”