RICKY Shakes is confident Swindon Town can benefit from his international adventure as he prepares for dreams to come true at Loftus Road tonight.
The youngster will pull on the Trinidad and Tobago shirt this evening as the World Cup qualifiers take on Iceland in their first friendly since booking their ticket to Germany.
While the rest of his County Ground colleagues were left to lick their wounds after Saturday’s 7-1 demolition at Nottingham Forest, Shakes reported for duty with his country on Sunday afternoon.
Two training sessions, a big press conference and a chat or two with Dwight Yorke later, Shakes is ready for action.
He said: “Just to be involved is fantastic and to pull on my country’s shirt will feel amazing. It really is a dream come true, especially to get an opportunity at such a young age.
“I’ve enjoyed it so far and you hope that you can learn from the players you are working with and the coaches as well. I’ve already had a couple of chats with Dwight Yorke and Stern John.
“You want to become a better player and to hopefully take things back with you to your club. Saturday (the 7-1 defeat) was not good but I think it helped me to be able to focus on this straight away.
“Then when I come back it will be all about looking to the next match and performing well.”
However much action Shakes is handed this evening, he intends to relish every moment, hopefully in a terrific atmosphere.
It is Carnival Tuesday back in Trinidad and all the indications are that the Trinidad and Tobago fans making the trip to Loftus Road will create quite an atmosphere.
That crowd will include at least 20 friends and family with numerous others having forked out to see Shakes perform.
A few Town faces could also be among the spectators to cheer on their friend and teammate.
And although there may be a carnival atmosphere at the ground and also back in Trinidad, the first team meeting brought a clear message from coach Leo Beenhakker – we’re not going to Germany just for a party.
Shakes said: “We’re not going to the World Cup as tourists and this Iceland match is a first chance to show people why we qualified. Hopefully we can start the preparations with a good result.”