Sheffield United: Wing-back receives a huge boost in his quest to become a Republic of Ireland regular
Stevens, who has excelled in the role since joining Sheffield United last summer, hopes to make his senior international debut during Friday’s friendly against Turkey.
The 27-year-old was among five first-time call-ups selected for the match in Antalya and O’Neill, revealing he plans to continue with a system initially trialled against Mexico last summer, said: “We played a couple of lads back in the USA and tried the system, the three at the back with two wing-backs.
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Hide Ad“The result, when you are well beaten by Mexico in the game, personally I wouldn’t have been too concerned about it.”
Stevens, previously of Aston Villa and Portsmouth, has emerged as a key member of the United team which enters the final eight games of the Championship season only two points outside of the play-off positions.
With the Republic scheduled to face France and the USA later this year, O’Neill attempted to ease the pressure on Stevens, adding: “The thing that’s important is while they might be under pressure to try to perform...it wouldn’t be the end of the world if somebody didn’t do well.”