Irish international Marc Wilson believes he is ready to try and gate-crash Stoke’s central midfield between now and the end of the season.
But he admits the successful Rory Delap/Dean Whitehead combination may remain a tough nut to crack.
That pair recently enjoyed eight successive Premier League games on the trot, but an enforced reshuffle at Manchester United and an FA Cup tie against Cardiff has left Wilson starting the last two games to much acclaim.
“It is always good whenever the fans appreciate you,” said the 23-year-old Irishman from County Antrim, “and it was great that the manager should give me the shout to play.
“I hadn’t played a full 90 minutes before the game at Old Trafford, so after 80 minutes I was feeling it a little bit. But it was great to be out there.
“Every player obviously wants to be in the team every week if he can and hopefully I can do that, but to be fair to Rory and Dean have been doing really well.”
Wilson, who joined four months ago as part of the deal that took Dave Kitson to Portsmouth, has proved easy on the eye with his natural ability on the ball.
But he acknowledges there has been work to do on the defensive side of his game to meet the requirements demanded at Stoke.
“The manager has done a great job in getting all the players playing together,” he said, “and he likes the team really solid first and foremost.
“It has taken a bit of adjusting to for me, but I think I’m getting used to it now.”
WIlson has also attracted the interest of Ireland international manager Giovanni Trapattoni and may play some part in the upcoming Celtic cup game against Wales in Dublin next month. Wilson was drafted into the Ireland squad for their crucial European qualifying double-header against Russia and Slovakia last October, but failed to get off the bench on that occasion.
“I’ve been in the last few squads and I’d love to play for my country,” he said.
“Getting a game for Ireland would be an unbelievable achievement, but I think the manager wants all his players playing week in, week out for their clubs.”
Ireland international Marc Wilson will be hoping to see more game time for Stoke in the coming weeks after putting in a solid shift in central midfield for the Potters against Man United last Sunday. And the trip to Goodison Park tomorrow is another opportunity to try and cement a starting place in the Stoke midfield.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis has raised a few eyebrows at the Britannia stadium over his sparing use of the versatile midfielder, with Wilson making just his second Potters start since his £3 million move from Portsmouth this summer.
Stoke managed to beat several Premiership clubs to Wilson’s signature, with West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo & West Ham manager Avram Grant big admirers of the County Antrim born player.
Pulis will have to decide if he sticks with the Rory Delap/Dean Whitehead central pairing, which has had limited success this season or introduce Wilson for one of the two mentioned above.
Certainly the Delap/Wilson pairing sounds more attractive as you combine the industrial work of the defensive midfield with some quality on the ball from Wilson.
Wilson’s ability to use the ball intelligently could therefore make a difference particularly if a ball-winning grafter like Rory Delap was deployed alongside him to give him some protection.
The Ireland international appears to possess the qualities that the Stoke engine room has been lacking. Against Man United last week and in spite of the odd lapse of concentration, Wilson brought composure and vision to a midfield that is in need of some inspiration and flair.
On the international scene, and with Irish boss Giovanni Trapattoni reviewing the makeup up of the central midfield positions, Wilson may be just the person to step in and shore up the current midfield weakness in the Irish team.
He certainly offers more than Paul Green and it would be interesting to see him start next month’s Norway friendly in the centre alongside Glen Whelan or even possibly Darron Gibson. Add to that his versatility and experience at right-back and right-midfield positions, and he sounds like an ideal candidate to be part of the Irish squad for years to come.
Stoke City defender Marc Wilson has been drafted into Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland squad ahead of their crucial European qualifying double-header against Russia and Slovakia.
Wilson from Aghagallon in County Antrim recently made a quick return to the Premiership after moving from cash strapped Portsmouth to Stoke City in a three million pounds deal in early September.
Stoke City manager Tony Pulis speaking at the time of Wilson’s move to The Potters said "He showed great maturity last season in what was a very difficult time for Portsmouth, so he will give us more competition for midfield places."
Wilson received his first international call up from Trapattoni in March this year when he was included in the squad for the glamour friendly against Brazil at the Emirates stadium in London. Speaking at the time of his first senior call-up Wilson said “It was always my dream to play for the Republic. I had grown up supporting them, Words could not describe my feeling when I heard about the call-up.”
Wilson has previously represented Ireland at u18, u19 and u21 levels.
SSN are reporting that West Ham have now entered the race to sign Portsmouth captain Marc Wilson.
The 23-year-old Irish international defender is subject to interest from a number of top-flight sides, with West Brom having already had a £3million bid turned down.
Fulham are also keen, while Stoke are thought to be lining up a player-plus-cash deal for the defender - with Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence discussing moves in the opposite direction - estimated to be worth around £3.5m.
But Avram Grant's West Ham have now also made an approach, as they are eager to shore up a leaky defence which has already conceded six goals in their opening two Premier League defeats.
Pompey boss Steve Cotterill previously admitting he would be powerless to prevent the County Antrim born defender from leaving Fratton Park if the club receive the right offer
West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo has not ruled out a renewed bid for Ireland international Marc Wilson but he admits that it will be difficult to force a deal when Portsmouth are not willing to sell their most promising player.
Pompey boss Steve Cotterill revealed last week that his club had rejected a bid from the Premier League Baggies for his County Antrim born captain, with skysports.com having broken the news earlier in August.
Wilson has been excellent for Portsmouth in the opening matches of this season and his versatility makes him an attractive prospect for top-flight new boys West Brom.
Di Matteo has remained evasive when questioned about the possibility of making another approach for Wilson but he does acknowledge that Cotterill is unlikely to sell one of his best players.
"We made an offer for Wilson and it's been rejected," the West Brom boss told the Birmingham Mail. "As he is not our player I won't comment too much on it.
"It's difficult to say what will happen because if a club doesn't want to sell we can't do much."
Portsmouth star Marc Wilson is in the middle of a bitter war between the cashstrapped club and the Premier League.
The Premier League have blocked the young Irish centre half's £4million move to Sunderland but Pompey are still looking at ways of pulling off the club-saving transfer and may even appeal to FIFA.
Pompey have been stunned by the decision to pull the rug from deals that could rescue them from oblivion.
Their appeal to be allowed to flog players outside the transfer window caused uproar at rival topflight clubs. Even though there is a precedent for clubs 'in distress' to operate outside the window, Premier League chairmen demanded that the proposal was strangled at birth.
Pompey argue that Sunderland are ready to complete the transfer the moment they are given the go-ahead - and claim it is necessity if they are to pay this month's salaries.
If the Wilson move ultimately gets the go-ahead, it will be the signal for a string of departures from Fratton Park with several players expected to be sold.
The debt-ridden south coast club are keen to offload England keeper David James, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Nadir Belhadj in a desperate bid to raise cash to settle a £12m tax bill.
Celtic have launched a loan bid to take Portsmouth defender Marc Wilson on loan for the rest of the season.
Tony Mowbray is keen to land the former Ireland under-21 international for the second half of the season.
The Hoops were also in for Arsenal defender Philipe Senderos but believe he is now out of their reach and have now turned their attentions to Pompey’s young Irish rising star Wilson.
Celtic wouldn’t have a chance of landing the County Antrim born 22-year-old under normal circumstances but they are hoping Portsmouth’s horrendous financial predicament will allow them to push the deal through.
Contact has already been made and the early indications are that the Premiership strugglers would prefer to sell rather than loan out their £2.5 million-rated star.
Wilson, who can play anywhere across the back or as a holding midfielder, is a regular in Avrum Grant’s team but would consider a move to the SPL as the financial uncertainty continues over his South Coast club.
The latest takeover has seen Portsmouth fail to pay their wages on time and they have also been banned from signing any players until they pay of all their outstanding debts.
Wilson, who has made 18 top-team appearances this season, has been as Portsmouth for four years after he quit Manchester United’s youth academy.
His impressive recent from for Pompey has brought him to the attention of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni and Wilson may figure in Ireland's European Championship campaign, which starts later in the year.It’s a far cry from the early years when he started his football career with the under nines at Lurgan Town and went on to play for the under 10s and under 11s.
His displays in the Lisburn League caught the eye of a Manchester United scout and he travelled over with other youngsters for coaching.
Up until 15 he was with United but then was told he did not make the height needed although since then he has grown to six feet two inches.
Then a West Ham scout, who was a good friend of Harry Redknapp, recommended Marc to Harry who had taken over as manager of Portsmouth.
Despite attracting interest from other clubs such as Blackburn, Sunderland, Tottenham and Middlesboro Marc was impressed with the set-up at Portsmouth.
In July 2004 he signed for the club and it was on September 24, 2008 he made his Premiership debut against Chelsea.
An all round player who can play anywhere he was marked down as a central defender by the former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams during his time at Portsmouth.
Last season was plagued by injuries but now back to full fitness Marc has established a place for himself in the first team squad, making 24 appearances this season.
During his early years he was also an accomplished gaelic player with the St Mary’s club in Aghagallon and the school teams.
