Jamie Mullins has known some of his Ireland under-21 team-mates for most of his life. From the St Kevin’s Boys pitches in Dublin to Turners Cross, Cork, the Wycombe Wanderers midfielder will once again line up alongside familiar faces this Friday when Ireland host Slovakia in a Uefa European Under-21 Championship qualifier.
“It’s special. It’s nice that we all grew up playing together, then went our different ways, and now we’re back in camp again,” says Mullins.
“We’ve got really good memories of playing together since we were kids, so to see lads like David [Okagbue], James [McManus] and Seán [Grehan] doing well, it’s brilliant. You can look around the group and feel proud of how far everyone’s come.”
That sense of continuity is a theme throughout this young Ireland squad. Jim Crawford’s side approach the Slovakia fixture on the back of two wins last time out, but Mullins admits the group are striving for higher standards.
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“The goal was always to get two wins, and we did that,” he says. “But we know we can play better. Performances can definitely improve, and Friday is a chance to step it up again.”
It’s a shorter camp this time, with only one game before the players head back to their clubs, but Mullins insists that has its benefits.
“It means we can really focus on one team and one match,” he says. “There’s a short window, but that just sharpens the focus. Everyone’s switched on from the start.”
The 21-year-old joined League One side Wycombe on a permanent deal during the summer after two-and-a-half years at Brighton, where he captained their under-21 side last season.
His decision to leave the Premier League side for regular football in League One, the third tier of English soccer, raised a few eyebrows, but Mullins is convinced it was the right move.
“I’d been at Brighton a while and I loved my time there, but I just felt it was the right time for a fresh start,” he says. “When you go somewhere permanently, the club really buys into your development. They’re planning for your future, not just a loan spell, and that makes a difference. Wycombe have been brilliant with me so far.”
But international duty still holds a different kind of pull. Friday’s match in Cork will be his first competitive home fixture at Turners Cross for the under-21s, and he’s eager to experience the Cork crowd for himself.
“You can’t really replicate the feel of a qualifier,” he says. “From watching the games last year, the atmosphere at Turners Cross looked class. The lads who played there spoke really highly of it. I can’t wait to play there – it’s one of those places where you can really feel the support.”
When the conversation turns to opponents, Mullins doesn’t hesitate to name the best player he’s faced: Liverpool and Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, his former team-mate at Brighton. “He’s unbelievable,” he says with a smile. “The way he sees the game – you learn just from training with someone like that.”
From the St Kevin’s academy pitches to rubbing shoulders with a World Cup winner, Mullins’s path has already taken him a long way. But this week, back in green and surrounded by old friends, it feels like home again.
