Conor Bradley says he can take inspiration from his Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk when leading Northern Ireland.
After Jonny Evans retired from international football in August, manager Michael O’Neill has said he will rotate the armband around his squad. It was Bradley who skippered the side in the 0-0 draw against Belarus in the Nations League at the weekend last weekend and he will do so again when Bulgaria visit Windsor Park on Tuesday.
Bradley says he is aiming to “lead by example” and cites Van Dijk’s approach with Liverpool as something he seeks to emulate.
“He’s always one of the best players in training every day and that’s something I aspire to be,” said the 21-year-old.
“Virgil is quite a role model.”
While Bradley will be starting his fourth international of the season on Tuesday, he has only been selected in Arne Slot’s line-up once in 2024-25 so far.
“It’s a good chance for me to get two 90 minutes under my belt because it’s been limited at my club level,” he said.
“I am still young; I’m not the complete player. I still have to get better at defending and I still have to get better going forward.
“I’m just trying to learn every day off people like Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Andy Robertson, who are world-class players. I try to take bits of their game and put it into mine.”