Hamilton new boy Dan O'Reilly hopes to catch up with Celtic defender Liam Scales and St Mirren midfielder Jamie McGrath as he aims to follow in his countrymen's footsteps in Scotland.
The 26-year-old defender arrived from League of Ireland Premier side Drogheda United at the start of the month to become Accies' first signing of the January window.
And he's hoping to be a success at Accies in the Championship, which could see him make the step up to Scotland's top flight just like McGrath and Scales have from Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers, respectively.
O'Reilly, who made his debut in Sunday's 3-0 win over Queen of the South, said: "I was only talking to Jamie the other day. He's a really nice guy, really down to earth.
"I played against Jamie at Dundalk and the Irish league is quite like a community league where a lot of people know each other.
"He's only 20 minutes away now so I'm sure I'll tie in with him sometime and the likes of Liam Scales, who's just gone to Celtic [in August].
"If you do well with Hamilton - in terms of the club getting back up [to the Premiership], which is obviously the main aim - you just have way more opportunity over here [than in the League of Ireland].
"The level and the standard is higher and it's more competitive.
"I spoke to a couple of people before I joined Hamilton and they only had good things to say about it.
"Obviously that was important because I didn't get the chance to look around and get a feel for it because of Covid.
"It was a big decision but one I'm delighted I made in the end.
"A lot of Irish players have come over and I think in terms of the style I think it will be similar.
"The quality is better but the style is quite similar.
"Obviously I've only had one game so far, but it looks like a higher intensity and a higher tempo.
"There's more full-time teams here than there is in Ireland so there might be that element of fitness and being a bit stronger.
"It's a bigger test for myself but I think it's one I needed, especially at my age at 26.
"I think this is the right step for me to go full-time and it's a brilliant opportunity to challenge myself."
Hamilton have been hit by Covid issues since O'Reilly arrived and the club are facing a selection headache ahead of Saturday's clash at home to Partick Thistle with at least five players already ruled out.
The centre-back, who also had spells in his homeland with Finn Harps and Shelbounre, added: "There's been a good few cases and I'm sure every club is like that now, where cases are coming in, but I'm looking forward to the game on Saturday and I know it will be a tough test for us.
"I'm really enjoying it at Hamilton. It's a good environment, the lads are nice and the gaffer's being really good to me.
"I'm loving it and I'm learning every day."
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