GAME-TIME may come more easily for him on the international stage than with his club but Conor Bradley insists he’s still learning from his Liverpool colleagues.
The 21-year-old will lead Northern Ireland out against Bulgaria at Windsor Park, having already worn the captain’s armband in Saturday night’s goalless draw against Belarus in Hungary.
His Liverpool skipper, Virgil van Dijk, who also captains the Netherlands, is an inspiration in that regard, the Aghyaran lad acknowledges:
“My captain at the club Virgil is quite a role model with the way he conducts himself every day. In training every day he is always one of the best players and that’s someone I aspire to be in how he conducts himself every day and how he leads by example. He would probably be one of the main role models for me.”
Bradley also takes lessons from fellow Reds full-backs, with club boss Arne Slot having spoken to him about what he needs to do to play more: “Just about improving everywhere. Obviously I am still young, I’m not the complete player, I still have to get better at defending, better at going forward.
“I’m just trying to learn everyday off people like Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Andy Robertson, who are world class players; try to take bits of their games and put it into mine.”
His first experience as NI captain at the weekend was played behind closed doors, so Bradley anticipates more against Bulgaria:
“I think probably it will be a bit more special doing it at home with all the crowd there. It was just a surreal experience with the armband on and I’m looking forward to tomorrow night and doing it again. My mum and sister will be there, so I’ll look forward to seeing them.”
As for ‘leading by example’ himself, Bradley explains his understanding of that phrase: “First of all giving my all and working as hard as I can, but also trying to be brave on the ball, trying to be creative and trying to create chances for my team-mates. I try to play my normal football as well as those things.”
