"I was very fortunate to play in the Carling Cup final. After missing a few weeks with a rib injury, I nearly made it back for the FA Cup game at Liverpool. I was gutted to miss that. I then played an hour in the reserves on Tuesday. I didn't get any bangs on the ribs, and then in training they held up fine, despite it being fairly physical. It was then a case of keeping my fingers crossed. I didn't know until two hours before kick off whether the manager was going to pick me, and fortunately he did. It was fantastic to win and pick up another medal, which is tucked away in my draw with the others I have. A Champions League medal would be great to complete the set, but my target now is to qualify for major tournaments with Ireland. That is a main ambition."