Conor Washington has no plans to retire from Northern Ireland duty

The 31-year-old came into this international window in confident mood after his summer move to Derby, but a player who made the cut for Euro 2016 said many of his best moments have come with the Green and White Army – a debt he intends to repay by making himself available as long as he is wanted.

“I’ve said to Michael (O’Neill) I don’t see myself retiring from international football,” Washington said. “He can retire me if he likes, stop picking me sort of thing.

“Northern Ireland has given me some great memories, probably the best of my football career to be honest.

"I think it would be remiss of me to call quits on that. I have 38 caps now so 50 is the goal and as many as possible after that.”

Washington made the move to Pride Park in July, reunited with Paul Warne who last summer signed him for Rotherham before leaving for Derby four months later.

“Derby is a great club,” Washington said. “I’m delighted to have signed there. It is a club that matches my own ambitions in terms of where it wants to get back to, the facilities are fantastic, I know the manager very well and the fan base is top quality.

“We just have to reward our fans with results and get ourselves up the table. We want to be in the mix for automatic promotion come the end of the season.”

The Rams have endured more than their fair share of struggles in recent years brought on by financial issues off the pitch, suffering relegation to League One in 2022 at the end of a season in which they were deducted a total of 21 points for breaching English Football League regulations.

But Washington is confident those troubles are behind them after last summer’s takeover, and with memories of the Rams playing in the Premier League not too distant, the fan base and the history make Derby a sleeping giant.

“There are probably a few clubs in League One who would put themselves in that bracket,” he said. “We get 30,000 fans in League One so that is very much a sleeping giant.

“All the infrastructure is there, facilities-wise with the stadium and the fan base is there to get ourselves back up and be an established Championship team which is what everyone wants.”

There are also reminders of the glory days on the walls of Pride Park and the Moor Farm training centre – where the club’s two top-flight titles are among the many honours commemorated.

“You see some of the people on billboards around the stadium and it makes you realise what a historic club it is,” Washington added. “We have spoken about how regularly they were in the Premier League and that’s obviously where the club wants to get back to but we have to make that first step first which is back into the Championship.”