Polish move holds no fear for Sheridan

For a man who faced up to Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Angel di Maria on the occasion of his full senior international debut seven years ago, pressure's not an issue, however.

"It's good to feel pressure, it allows you to show your stronger side," says Sheridan, who completed his move from Omonia Nicosia yesterday to Jagiellonia, a side second in the Polish Ekstraklasa table who have serious ambitions of winning the league for the first time in their 96-year history.

Travel does not bother Sheridan (28) who left his Cavan home as a teenager, played his schoolboy football in Dublin for Belvedere and as a professional played for clubs in Scotland, England, Bulgaria and Cyprus so he won't be fazed by his new surroundings in Bialystok, a city in eastern Poland.

He even has the advantage of having visited the place before, as his previous club, Omonia Nicosia, knocked his new employers out of the Europa League in 2015, Sheridan with the only goal in a 1-0 aggregate win.

A senior international (three caps under Giovanni Trapattoni in 2010) who has played in the group stages of the Champions League for two clubs (Celtic and Omonia), Sheridan had offers from clubs across the globe, including China. But Jagiellonia are serious about winning the league and that's why they made a last-gasp bid to sign him before the transfer window closed last night.

"There were a few crazy days, last month I thought the transfer would happen, but then I thought the deal was off and I was focusing on the next game with Omonia but then it was back on," says Sheridan, who joins Scottish import Ziggy Gordon at the club.

"Now I am ready to do my best for the team and I can't wait."

Because there was no mid-season break in the Cyprus, Sheridan is fit and ready for action and could even be pitched in for his debut, at home to Slask Wroclaw on Sunday.

Sheridan, who started up front alongside Robbie Keane against Argentina back in 2010, has expressed his desire to win more caps.