Caolan held his own with Irish boys who will cost millions
O’Carroll tips Buddies ace to join likes of Bradley on the big stage
ST MIRREN coach Diarmuid O’Carroll reckons a Northern Ireland cap is in the post for Caolan Boyd-Munce.
And he has backed the Buddies ace to deliver on his promising club displays and establish himself as one of the Premiership’s top performers as well.
O’Carroll – who doubles up on his duties in Paisley with a role assisting Norn Iron manager Michael O’Neill – was with Boyd-Munce last week as was called up for friendly duty against Romania and Scotland.
Unfortunately for the former Birmingham and Middlesbrough midfielder, the closest he got to fulfilling his dreams of international action was a seat on the bench.
But O’Carroll saw enough during their week in camp to be convinced Boyd-Munce can join the likes of Liverpool prospect Conor Bradley to form Northern Ireland’s next generation of stars.
He said: “I’m sure Caolan was disappointed not to get on in the two games but he was different class.
“I spoke to him early in the camp and said ‘the most reassuring thing for you is that you’re comfortably able to play at this level’.
“You could see that training up against boys who play in the Premier League and the top of the Championship.
“Boys who could go for big money. He’s more than capable of playing for Northern Ireland and he will.
“The state of the game sometimes makes a difference in terms of the changes.
“For example, Jordan Thompson comes on as a midfielder, plays for Stoke in the Championship.
“But Caolan will get his time. He could be part of this generation going forwards. He’s only 23.
“But he’ll take nothing but confidence from the fact that in training and every day, you could look at him and go, well, he’s a very good player. He can play at this level.”
Boyd-Munce made the move to Paisley this time last year after being released by Boro.
But he spent his first few months in Scotland mostly settling in at Saints.
Having made only three appearances last term totalling a mere 63 minutes, he’s emerged as a central figure for Stephen Robinson’s side this season.
He’s featured in all but three of St Mirren’s 31 Premiership games this term and is close to triggering a clause on his contract that will extend his current one-year deal by another 12 months.
That’s a huge relief for O’Carroll, who reckons Saints have still to see the Belfast boy reach his peak.
The Buddies No.2 said: “Can I see him growing further? Yes, 100 per cent. He’s got potential to be one of the best midfielders in the league.
“He hasn’t done it yet, and he’ll say that himself, but he’s so young.
“He’s 24 but he’s only really 21 because he’s only in his first 50 games as a pro.
“When Ethan Erhahon left here at 21, he’d played 120 games – but Caolan’s only played 40.
“So he’s going to still make mistakes but over the last two or three months, we’ve seen his level drastically rise.
“I’ve personally seen it from being in the international camp in November to then being in the international camp in March. He’s flying.
“He’s only on one trajectory and will keep going.
“He listens and is very coachable so I have full hope that he’ll kick on and put on a bit of a show for us in the next few games.”