Blues boss Mick McCarthy says left-back Jonas Knudsen was wearing the broadest smile he’d seen after returning to Playford Road having been part of the Denmark squad which thrashed the Republic of Ireland 5-1 in Dublin on Tuesday to claim a place at next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia.
"We had to take the coat-hanger out of his mouth this morning,” former Ireland boss McCarthy joked, perhaps through slightly gritted teeth. "It was the broadest smile I’ve seen.
"But congratulations to him, he’s one of our players, one of my players. He can’t do anything more than he does.
"He’s got himself in the squad, I don’t know if there were any injuries or suspensions, I’ve no idea, but if they come and watch him and see what he does on a weekly basis, then he’s an asset to anybody.
"He can play left centre-back, left-back. I’m delighted for him, I hope he gets there.”
Knudsen, who was an unused sub against Ireland with both his full caps having come prior to joining the Blues in the summer of 2015, has had a very consistent first three months of the season for Town without receiving too many plaudits.
"I guess you get talked about if you’re having a good time and you get talked about if you’re having a bad time,” McCarthy reflected.
"But [you don’t if you’re] somewhere in the middle of it and a seven out of 10 every week at least [as he is].
"He’s just concentrates on his own job, he’s a great team player, he really is a big part of that and he is consistent. Every single week you get pretty much the same out of him. He works hard, he demands out of himself every day. He trains like a beast, he’s great.”
He added: "First and foremost he’s part of a defensive unit. I think the 10 players in front of Bart are a defensive unit when we haven’t got the ball, they have to be.
"But Jonas is a really important cog in that wheel. We had it early on where Myles Kenlock did OK and I was getting asked if he’s competing and I said I’d like to think he was but Jonas, in my view, has been the best left-back.
"He’s a really good defender but he’s got to have Myles behind him, pushing him just to keep him [at the top of his game], not that he needs that, Jonas. I have to say he’s a proper pro, but it’s nice when you’ve got competition for places. He’s been great.”
As for Ireland’s exit, McCarthy added: "It wasn’t like Northern Ireland, a penalty decision that’s taken them out of it, in the end Denmark were full value for their victory.
"I thought they played well in Denmark, I thought they looked like the team likely to score.
"I always thought that we would have to score, I thought we’d have to score two because I thought Denmark were good enough to open us up, not to the extent they did, of course.
"But I’m really disappointed and disappointed for some of the lads that I know really well that are in that squad, and disappointed for the fans because ultimately they’re great when they travel.
"But the likes of Murph [Daryl Murphy], the likes of Stephen Ward, who I had [at Wolves] for a long time, I signed them both from [Irish clubs], it was sad to see.”
Blues striker David McGoldrick ultimately missed out on a place in the Ireland squad for the Denmark games and McCarthy says he’s spoken to the Town number 10, who at 29 still has a chance to be involved in the next European Championships and World Cup.
"I’ve already said to Didzy, you make sure you keep yourself right and if you get called up you go and play, you never know,” he said.
"Lee Carsley was a great pro and a great player for me, for Ireland. He turned up, he didn’t always get a game. He’d turn up in the friendlies and, of course, he’d play in the friendlies when other bigger stars didn’t turn up or couldn’t turn up for whatever reason.
"There were lots of them and Cars, I put him on in the World Cup, he got five or 10 minutes for us, and he loves it - he’s played in a World Cup.
"And that’s what I said to Didz - you never know. To have that on your record, your CV I think it’s particularly good.”