‘International football gives belief you belong in Premier League’

Former Northern Ireland and Leeds United wide man Stuart Dallas is part of BBC Sport NI’s coverage of Tuesday’s friendly with Iceland.

Reaching the Premier League is a dream for any player.

I know how Trai Hume and Daniel Ballard feel after they won promotion with Sunderland, it’s an incredible feeling and achieving it with Leeds was one of the highlights of my career.

It’s a big step up from the Championship, not only on the pitch but with everything that comes with it.

There’s more spotlight and every game you play is a big event that is shown all over the world. It’s literally a different ball game.

That’s always what gave me the belief I could perform well in the Premier League.

I wasn’t playing all the time with my club, but with Northern Ireland I was playing against some of the best players in the world and I always felt I held my own.

Taking on some of the best players from Germany or the Netherlands, it only added to the belief that I belonged at that level, and I’m sure Trai and Daniel will feel the same.

You could say the same for Conor Bradley at Liverpool and Justin Devenny at Crystal Palace too, as they were both playing international football before playing week in, week out for their clubs.

I can relate a lot to Trai’s journey to the Premier League. Like me, he started off in the Irish League and had a lot of senior games under his belt before he moved across to England.

I had played between 150 and 200 games of senior football for Coagh United and Crusaders, and I can’t speak enough about how much that prepares you to step up to professional football in England. I still had a lot of developing to do when I moved to Brentford, but it set me up so well.

You can be in an academy in England from the age of eight, and in a pre-academy even younger. I look at some players who haven’t played a senior game by the age of 20 or 21 because they are stuck in youth football, and when they get their chance they struggle to adapt because it’s hard to bridge that gap.

While the result in Denmark was disappointing, there are still positives to take from the game. Denmark deserved to win, and they are a level above where Northern Ireland currently are.

But it is where Michael O’Neill wants his team to be, and it was another good learning experience for his young squad.

Defensively, particularly in the first half, they were very good against a strong and creative attack but they will want to improve going forward. They needed to be more brave on the ball. They made a great start with the goal but didn’t really threaten after scoring, and I’m sure that will have disappointed Michael.

In that regard, I think Iceland in the perfect game to follow it up on Tuesday. As the home team, the onus is on you to take it to the opposition and play with the energy and desire to win the game. The crowd will play a role in that too, and we know how important Windsor Park can be.

I know Michael likes to play with a back three, but I think he will set the team up a little bit different to get his key players on the ball to try and make something happen.

It’s a new era for Northern Ireland, and that is highlighted by the fact that George Saville was the only player in the 26-strong squad over the age of 30.

Paddy McNair would have been in there too if he wasn’t injured, but it just shows how young this team are.

The Iceland game is the final chance to prepare for World Cup qualifying in September, and it’s hard because these players are effectively learning on the job. The only way to prepare for big games is to keep playing strong teams and learn from any mistakes.

There aren’t any shortcuts in international football, and that is why Michael is keen to take on higher-level friendlies.

The leadership group in the squad is young, but I’m seeing good qualities on the pitch.

Stuart Dallas was speaking to BBC Sport NI’s Andy Gray.