CONOR Bradley reckons an international trip with Northern Ireland will be a perfect appetiser for an exciting end to the season with Wanderers.
The on-loan Liverpool wing-back is aiming to win his 11th cap in Serravalle, San Marino, tomorrow night as the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign gets underway.
Bradley has already made 44 appearances this season and has played 15 times since the turn of the year.
He will return to Bolton after Northern Ireland’s first home game against Finland on Sunday evening to begin preparing for the Papa Johns Trophy.
But he says some time away with international colleagues – including Wanderers team-mates Dion Charles and Eoin Toal – could be just what the doctor ordered.
“I think it might help to get away and be doing something a bit different,” he told The Bolton News. “It always feels a bit different being away and playing for your country.
“The boys getting a few days off will definitely help because it has hectic, non-stop the last couple of months.
“It might be good to get a reset and then go again for the last bit of the season because there is a lot at stake for us.”
Bradley will be out to impress returning Northern Ireland manager, Michael O’Neill, who first left the job in 2020 after nine years in charge, which included their first-ever qualification for the Euros in 2016.
No stranger to the University of Bolton Stadium in the last 12 months, O’Neill is also well aware of Bradley’s talents, coming through the ranks at Anfield.
“Having a new manager makes it interesting,” Bradley said.
“He was involved when I was coming through the youth system, so I think he knows a bit about me, he has talked to my family as I was growing up.
“I can’t wait to get going, really. He likes attacking wide players, it’s perfect, a match made in heaven!”
After San Marino and Finland, Northern Ireland face arguably tougher tests in the form of Denmark, Slovenia and Kazakhstan in a competitive Group H.
They will be expected to start with a positive result and Bradley is looking forward to testing himself in a completely new arena.
“I’ve never been to San Marino, so this is a first for me,” he said. “Right now I don’t know too much about then but I’m sure we’ll get all the briefing we need once we are there before the game, how they have played in previous games and all that.”
Wanderers have a free run to the Papa Johns Trophy final at Wembley and will travel to London on Friday to train at Brentford before visiting the stadium the day before the game.
Bradley is confident that extra time to prepare a gameplan will be advantageous after a condensed schedule through January and February.
“It has been a really busy time,” he said. “We barely trained in February and played every Saturday-Tuesday, so we were just trying to grind out results.
“The last couple of weeks we have had a bit more time on the training pitch ironing out a few things, which has been really important.
“Not having any games before the final can help us, I think. We can prepare properly and hopefully go there and win.”
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