MASON MUNN says he’s hoping to savour the experience of representing Northern Ireland at a major international youth tournament.
The 18-year-old goalkeeper has been called up by Gareth McAuley as the Green and White Army host the Under-19 European Championships on home soil.
Munn is joined in the squad by Gers B midfielder Blaine McClure, and the teenager insists he’s keen to create memories for the country to cherish over the next fortnight.
Speaking to RangersTV alongside his Rangers teammate, Munn commented: “There’s a lot of pride for myself and my family.
“They are proud of me and what I’ve been doing recently, and the call-up has topped everything off that has happened over the last month. I’m looking forward to it.
“It’s my first major international tournament and hopefully there’s a few more.
“The main thing is to go out and enjoy it as much as we can because we know it’s going to be difficult.
“If you’re going in expecting to get beat then you may as well not show up. We’ll go in with a lot of belief that we can win and take it a game at a time.
“We know in these competitions that one victory can change everything, and we’ll focus on the opening game against Ukraine and we’ll look to the next one once that’s done.”
Munn has been a regular in the Northern Ireland youth ranks over the years and, at club level, helped Gers Under-18s lift the Scottish Youth Cup at Hampden Park last season.
Fortunately, the goalkeeper has grown up during a period of relative success for the Northern Ireland senior side, watching on as a ten-year-old as the Green and White Army reached the knockout stages at the 2016 European Championships.
And he doesn’t have to look too far inside the Northern Ireland camp for inspiration, with Under-19s boss Gareth McAuley having helped deliver one of the most famous nights in the nation’s history as a player when he netted the opening goal against Ukraine in a 2-0 win in Lyon.
He added: “Gareth McAuley has been a brilliant role model for all of us. We all look up to him and he’s been there and done it. There’s no-one better to learn off.
“As a youngster I remember Michael McGovern having a great tournament at the 2016 European Championships. I always recall him playing for Northern Ireland and he made a name for himself in that competition.
“I’m from Donaghadee which is a wee bit outside of Belfast. It has a lot of nice scenery and it’s a nice place to live.
“I remember the ClubNI set-up when I was around ten years old, and believe it or not, I’ve been selected for every squad since.
“It’s a proud thing for me as well that I’ve never not been in a squad. I have a lot of memories from the Under-17 European Championships when we got to the Elite Round and from friendlies where we played a lot of good games.”
You can watch a short trailer below from the interview with Mason Munn and Blaine McClure or RangersTV subscribers can watch in full here.