CAOIMHÍN KELLEHER admitted that staying as Ireland No. 1 was high in his thoughts when he chose to join Brentford.
The Ireland goalkeeper this week made the switch from Liverpool to the Bees in a deal that could be worth as much as £18 million.
But for Kelleher, it was about securing first-team football having backed up Alisson Becker at Anfield.
And he acknowledged that he also knew that playing regularly was key to him maintaining his position in the Ireland team.
He told RTE: “I think I’ve played well for Ireland. I think I’ve done well enough to keep the No. 1 position.
“I need to do well to keep it, but no doubt playing week in week out will help my cause for sure.
“It (the transfer) has been a long time coming. Definitely really happy to get it over the line and get it done and loling forward to getting going.”
Kelleher has played all nine games of Heimir Hallgrímsson’s games in charge to date having nailed down the No. 1 spot while Southampton’s Gavin Bazunu has been out injured.
Bazunu, who returned to the squad in March but misses out this week through injury, should be back challenging next season.
But Cork man Kelleher continues to produce performances that will make him difficult to dislodge as he pulled off some big saves as Ireland drew 1-1 with Senegal.
He said: “You have to make those big saves if you want to be a top goalkeeper, keep doing that and helping the team.
“It was a very positive performance from us, probably come in a little disappointed not to win the game which is a good sign.
“They’re one of the best nations in the world. We’re going in the right direction for sure.”
