Why Rotherham United's Will Grigg is not giving up hope with Northern Ireland

Will Grigg. Picture courtesy of Rotherham United FC.

Solihull-born Grigg, 30, who qualifies from Northern Ireland through a grandparent, has been capped 13 times, but his last appearance arrived almost three years ago when he featured in the Nations League game in Austria in October, 2018.

But he has no intention of calling time on his international prospects just yet.

Grigg, brought in by the Millers on a season-long loan from Sunderland, said: "That was something else the manager spoke about. There are internationals within this group of players.

"Players who weren't getting calls now are thanks to their success at this club. "I've never ruled it out. If this move can help me to get back into the Northern Ireland fold that would be another massive bonus and a massive honour."

The arrival of Grigg represented a significant development at the end of the window for Rotherham, with the retaining of fellow striker Michael Smith despite interest throughout the summer also adding to the sense of well-being of every connected with the club.

Smith was linked to several Championship clubs, most notably Middlesbrough and Bristol City, but remained a Millers player by the time that the window closed for business late last Tuesday.

And the significance of keeping the player has also not been lost upon Grigg.

"It's a massive thing for the club and a massive thing for myself as well," the Midlander observed.

"I've played against him over the years and know all about him. He's a fantastic player. It would have been really disappointing for everyone to lose a player like him."

On his previous experience of playing up front alongside a traditional target man such as Smith, he continued: "It's worked for me before.

"At MK Dons, the last time I was there, myself and Cameron Jerome played as a two for quite a lot of the season and it worked really well.

"I'm looking forward to playing with a player of Michael Smith's quality. It's going to be relatively easy to play off him and I'm sure we'll quickly get an understanding that will hopefully work well."