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Jack Iredale hopes signing for Wanderers can help him realise his international ambition with Australia.
The defender, who joined from Cambridge United this summer, had been one of the Socceroos brightest prospects in his teens before a succession of injuries interrupted his progress.
Iredale relaunched his career in the UK five years ago and now wants to push towards the Championship with Bolton to give himself the best possible chance of representing his country again.
“I would love to play for Australia,” he told The Bolton News. “I played for Australia at youth team levels but I haven’t been involved in any camps or anything like that at senior level.
“Playing for Australia is definitely right up there at the top of the personal goals that I’ve set myself. I think that a move to Bolton is only going to be able to help me do that and playing as well.”
Australia qualified for the World Cup with a dramatic penalty shootout victory against Peru in a play-off and though football has serious competition from other sports like cricket, rugby and Aussie Rules, Iredale says their achievement has caught the nation’s attention.
“There are about five different national sports over there, but it was only a short while ago that Australia won the shootout. It’s definitely been a big story, there is a lot of excitement now heading towards the World Cup.” Iredale is now focussed on forcing his way into the reckoning at Wanderers and playing regularly, having missed a huge chunk of his formative years in football to injury.
Now the 26-year-old says that early heartache makes him all the more determined to succeed in the game.
“Sometimes I reflect on that,” he said. “Between the ages of 16 and 19 or 20, I hardly played football. I hadn’t signed by first pro contract yet and a piece of me thought ‘I’m always going to be able to do that’.
“But there were other parts of me that were saying ‘what if you just can’t get there because of what was going on?’ “Thankfully since I turned 20 I’ve hardly had any injuries. I’ve been available for nearly every single game other than last season when I tried to tackle Dapo (Afolayan) and he fell on my ankle! I spent a couple of months out after that.
“I try and pride myself on being available for every game. I spent enough time in a physio room when I was younger and I hate being in the physio room now. I do reflect on it and I am thankful that I’m able to call this my job to be honest.”
Promotion is the aim for Wanderers this season and having watched the club develop from the outside over the past two years he believes Championship football is within its grasp.
“We got promoted the same season at Cambridge from League Two and I know the club had had a tough time but every single season, they get better and every game that we’ve played against them, they’ve got better as well, when I was on the other team.
“Now I’m excited to be on this journey with the club and be on this rise. We’ve set ourselves a challenge and this season it’s all guns blazing trying to achieve that.”
“It’s a challenge that I’m really excited for and I’m excited to really hit the ground running and contribute. I think promotion is achievable.”
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