Northern Ireland star explains why international icon was 'the role model that I looked up to'
Shea Charles admits Northern Ireland icon Steven Davis was the “role model that I looked up to” when coming through the ranks – and says having him as part of Michael O’Neill’s staff is helpful for his development.
Charles made his senior international debut alongside Davis against Greece in June 2022 while the pair played together four times in total before the latter was forced to retire due to injury.
With 19 years separating the duo, Charles was aged 12 when he watched Davis captain Northern Ireland to the 2016 European Championships.
While their time together on the pitch was limited, the pair are still working closely in the international arena with Charles keen to absorb as much information as possible from Davis, who is at the start of his coaching career.
Davis won four Scottish league titles with Rangers and also spent seven seasons playing in the Premier League for Southampton – Charles is currently on the books of the Saints.
Charles is keen to replicate Davis’ achievement of representing Northern Ireland at a major tournament as O’Neill’s men prepare for Thursday’s World Cup play-off semi-final trip to Italy.
"Davo is the main one and is probably the easy answer as well,” Charles told Northern Ireland’s social media channels. “He’s the same position and technically so good.
"I feel that’s the type of player and role model that I looked up to, especially when coming into the squad.
"We were only in a few camps together but I tried to learn as much as I could from him and now he’s in the coaching team so that’s really helpful.
"Watching the Euros (was the main memory) so to try and do something like that with our team would be special.
"That’s the aim for us boys, there’s a belief and really good buzz around the team at the moment, and I look forward to seeing what we can do.”