Rochdale’s Matthew Lund holding out hope for Northern Ireland recall

The 30-year-old has netted nine goals in 20 League One appearances this season, equaling his best return in a campaign - and Lund will be hoping he’s on the scoresheet once again when Rochdale travel to Gillingham this afternoon.

Lund’s tally means he is level with Callum Camps of Fleetwood Town as the highest-scoring Northern Ireland-eligible player in the top four flights of English football - but his last international involvement came during the heartbreaking World Cup qualifying play-off defeat to Switzerland in November 2017.

He earned three caps in total under Michael O’Neill, including starting in friendlies against Croatia and New Zealand, but was in the squad on 14 occasions and there is still a burning desire to make it back to that level.

“It’s been a difficult one for me,” he said. “I’m disappointed that I haven’t been in any more squads since then.

“I thought that I could offer something that maybe the team doesn’t have as much of, so I have been disappointed really.

“I haven’t had any contact with anyone from Northern Ireland for a few years now and it’s been a strange one really. I felt like I could have been involved at some points but you never know.

“It’s a dream to play and I’ve always said that.

“There was probably two years on the bounce that I was in every squad and I really enjoyed it even though I wasn’t playing that much.

“It kind of just seemed to end very quickly and I don’t expect a phone call to explain why, but I felt like I was performing at times and not getting picked and looking at the squad to see guys who haven’t been performing getting in, so it’s a bit frustrating in that sense.

“I never really understood why but I have to keep doing what I’m doing on the pitch and you never know.”

O’Neill has now moved on to Stoke City and been replaced by Ian Baraclough - and although he didn’t get many opportunities due to the strength of competition in midfield, Lund still enjoyed working alongside the former boss.

“He had some very good midfielders like Ollie Norwood and Steven Davis when I was there and they are obviously very good players,” he added. “I could understand why I wasn’t playing and Michael was very good with me.

“He made the trips very enjoyable for us and even for the lads that weren’t playing very much or getting on.

“We were doing well, winning games and the travelling was amazing.”

Lund’s immediate focus will be to keep performing for a club currently sitting 18th in the table and only one point above the relegation zone.

You are almost guaranteed entertainment when you watch ‘The Dale’ play, with their 22 games to date bringing 74 goals, including 3-3 draws with Crewe and Wigan in recent weeks while they also drew 4-4 with Charlton earlier this month.

With former Coleraine winger Stephen Dooley and fellow international Ryan McLaughlin also at the Spotland Stadium, there is a familiar presence at Rochdale under manager Brian Barry-Murphy, who was born in Cork.

Lund played alongside Barry-Murphy during his first stint with the Greater Manchester outfit and feels that is helping to bring the best out of his game.

“He understands me as a player and what my capabilities are,” he said. “In past years I’ve maybe played a little deeper and not been given more of a free role to get into the box as much as I can and that’s a big part of my game.

“He has allowed me to do that and I’m grateful for it.

“I’m playing in the right side of a three in midfield right now and it allows me to not really look behind me and worry what’s going on.

“My main aim is to get into the box and try to grab the goals that I know I can get.

“The last couple of seasons I have played in a two and it’s very different to a midfield three in that you do worry about behind you rather than what’s happening in the box, so it has been a blessing to have that role.”

Lund is hopeful that he will be able to keep embracing that freedom and now that he’s approaching his target of 10 goals, the bar will be pushed a little bit higher.

“I always try to set myself a goal target of 10 and try to get there,” he added. “It has been a different role this season so it’s about seeing how many I can get now.

“It might change now and I have to drop a little bit deeper with injuries or whatever, but at the moment I’m enjoying getting forward and trying to get as many goals as I can.”

--

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world.

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you