Ipswich Town: Jack Taylor discusses senior Republic of Ireland debut

The midfielder, who was called up for the first time this month but left as an unused substitute for last week’s 2-1 win against Finland, came off the bench against Greece in the 57th minute.

Despite the 2-0 defeat in Piraeus, Taylor was delighted that he got the chance to show what he’s capable of at international level, claiming that his side played well enough to take a draw from the game.

“It was an incredibly proud moment for me and my family, coming on in such a hostile atmosphere,” he told RTÉ Sport.

“We were 1-0 down in the game when I came on but I thought, if I bring some energy, we’ll definitely get a goal back.

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“I think we deserved a point in the end.

 "I have been called up before, so I was ready to make my debut then," he argued. "I am in the best shape of my career at the minute, I am really buzzing that it’s finally come. It was a long time coming."

Taylor certainly impressed off the bench, connecting with Josh Cullen’s cross from the right to force Odisseas Vlachomidos into an acrobatic save to keep out his diving header in the 69th minute. The 26-year-old admitted after the match that it was 'a bit gutting' that his effort didn't hit the back of the net.

Heimir Hallgrímsson was at Portman Road to watch Jack Taylor play against Aston Villa (Image: PA)

He also had a chance to equalise late on, scooping a shot into the goalkeeper’s gloves from a goalmouth scramble.

“Football’s a squad game, you never know when you’ll be called upon,” he said. “If the game isn’t going a certain way, you need to bring a different intensity and an impact to the game.

“All the subs did, and we’re happy with that obviously, but it’s the individual errors that we’ve made in the last couple of games. We don’t need to concede to get going.

“We’ll sort that out, but I think we definitely deserved a point today.”

Asked about his role, Taylor explained that he was tasked by manager Heimir Hallgrímsson to link up with a former Ipswich loanee in Troy Parrott. He believes that he played well in the defeat, but that there’s ‘plenty more to come’ from him in the coming weeks and months.

“I played behind Troy when I came on, just to try and get on the ball and feed passes into the wide players, and get into the box when it’s there.

“I thought I did okay. There’s plenty more to come from me.”

It's good for Taylor to have familiar faces around him at international level. With Sammie Szmodics, Chiedozie Ogbene and Dara O'Shea all in Hallgrímsson's squad, many have joked that the group is starting to look like 'the Republic of Ipswich'.

"The three lads coming in in the summer and making such an impact at our club, it’s great to see we are being noticed at our club for this team," Taylor said.

"We've sort of taken over Ipswich, which is a good thing. We are used to playing with each other and we can show that more in an Ireland shirt."

Ireland’s international games are over for this month, with the Boys in Green wrapping up their Nations League B campaign with a crucial home game against Finland and a trip to Wembley to play England.