Harry Arter is confident the Republic of Ireland can rely on the same kind of spirit which helped Leicester win the Premier League and kept Bournemouth in it.
Martin O’Neill’s men will head into the Euro 2016 finals next month, once again cast in the role of underdog after securing their place via the play-offs.
However, Cherries midfielder Arter insists there is no reason why they cannot upset the big boys as they attempt to emerge from a tough group which also includes Sweden, Belgium and Italy.
He said: “A lot of people wrote Bournemouth off at the start of the season and didn’t consider that they would stay up, but we worked really hard as a team.
“The team spirit, I would say, was probably the biggest factor in our staying up.
“Even though the manager made some big signings, the team that ended the season was really the lads who got us promoted.
“The team spirit in the Irish camp is pretty much the same. The lads have been so welcoming to me from the first day I was in the squad.
“You have only got to look at Leicester to see how far a team ethic and spirit can get you, so we should all use that as confidence.”
Arter is one of a series of players named in O’Neill’s initial 35-man party, which met up in Dublin on Sunday evening, who know they are in with a chance of making it on to the plane, but may still have something to prove.
The 26-year-old has just one senior cap to his name, and that came against England almost a year ago with injuries since having taken their toll.
But he will hope to remedy that situation against Holland in Dublin tomorrow evening and against Belarus in Cork four days later to win a dream trip to France and complete a journey which has seen him work his way back to prominence after being released by Charlton as a teenager.
He said: “For every player in this squad who has not been to a tournament like this, to go would certainly be a dream come true.
“I will look back and reflect maybe when I am a little bit older if I do go and my story may seem a little bit better in a sense, but for everyone I am sure it would just be brilliant.”
