WORLD Cup-bound Wrexham defender Dennis Lawrence is coming to terms with the knowledge he is no longer a virtual unknown as the build-up to this summer's finals in Germany gathers momentum.
His winning goal in last November's play-off against Bahrain not only guaranteed him immortality in his Trinidad & Tobago homeland, but also lifted him out of the ranks of lower league journeyman.
Nevertheless the 6ft 7in centre-back is maintaining as best he can the laid-back attitude for which his countrymen are renowned as he juggles new media and commercial demands with his day-to-day commitment to the Dragons and their bid to win promotion from League Two.
Lawrence, one of a sizeable contingent of Trinidad internationals playing out-side the Premiership, admitted: "Life has certainly been slightly more hectic since we qualified for the World Cup finals.
"And I think we all understand that the heightened media interest, particularly over here, has more to do with the fact that we'll be playing England in our qualifying group in Germany, rather than the fact that we are going to the World Cup for the first time in our history.
"Everyone realises that the game against England will be hyped up but what we are trying very hard to do is remember that it is just one of three games out there and that we've also got to play Sweden and Paraguay."
Since the World Cup draw was made in December, 32-year old Lawrence has conducted numerous interviews for television, national newspapers and magazines and has also been signed up by BBC Radio to compile a weekly diary of his thoughts as the countdown to Germany continues.
And there are fresh commercial opportunities, too, with sportswear manufacturers and football-related companies all eager to promote their brands and products.
"It's different and it's very interest-ing," added Lawrence. "But I'm trying to keep that side of things down to a minimum.
"It would be wrong to say I'm not enjoying the attention to some extent but it's very easy to go over the top, so I'm trying to keep a lid on what I get involved with and I make sure I do things in a positive way."
On the footballing front Trinidad's preparations got under way last week with their Loftus Road friendly - a comfortable and morale-boosting 2-0 win against Iceland.
Lawrence confessed to channel-hopping the following evening to follow the progress of the England v Uruguay and Wales v Paraguay matches.
"I thought Paraguay played pretty well against Wales and, as you would expect, were technically very good," he added..
"As a defender I thought they had one or two decent players going forward but we are under no illusions that there can be any easy games in Germany."
As for England, Lawrence and his team-mates can check the form of Sven-Goran Eriksson's players every weekend between now and the end of the season and Trinidad's detailed work won't begin in earnest until after the final Football League fixtures on May 6.
"We're meeting up in Trinidad for a game with Peru on May 10 and then coming over here to Carden Park hotel for a week," he said..
"After that we're off to a base in Austria for three warm- up games against Wales, the Czech Republic and Slovenia."
His World Cup commitments mean Lawrence will be missing from Wrexham's ranks should they be involved in the League Two play-offs, but few Racecourse fans would deny that country takes precedence over club for what will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
In the meantime, Lawrence is committed to winning automatic promotion and continues to be unstinting with the time he spends on promoting the club in and around North Wales schools.
A willing and regular ambassador for the Dragons, he said: "Whether its helping Phil Sadler in the promotions department or working with the Football in the Community scheme, I believe it's very important.
"I really enjoy meeting and working with children and it's something I try to do as often as possible. When I finish playing the game myself, I don't really see myself going into management.
"But I'd certainly be happy to get involved in coaching kids because, when you think about it, the game of football starts with them - they are the players and the fans of the future."