DARREN O'DEA reported for duty with the Republic of Ireland squad light on international experience but weighed down with support from his club manager and team-mates.

The defender only turned 20 last month and has made just 10 starts and six substitute appearances for the Celtic first team since breaking through this season.

However, it is the quality of those performances - especially the two Champions League games against AC Milan - which has propelled the likeable Dublin Bhoy into Steve Staunton's squad for the Euro 2008 double-header against Wales and Slovakia.

Fears it might be a step too far too soon for O'Dea have been dispelled by Parkhead boss Gordon Strachan.

It would be understandable if he was worried O'Dea suffered from altitude sickness, so quickly has he risen through the ranks.

But Strachan is confident the fact the youngster is such a grounded individual will keep him safe.

The manager - who has waved off an entire team on international duty this week - said: "Darren can play at that level, no problem at all.

"This is a fantastic chance for him. He's certainly having a great time of it just now, playing at the San Siro, getting a new contract, and now receiving this call-up from his country."

EVERYONE will be wishing O'Dea has better fortune than befell the last Celtic defender to win a debut cap at 20.

John Kennedy's fateful first appearance for Scotland came three years ago this week, and ended after just 14 minutes with the young star fighting for his career, after Romania's Ioan Ganea stamped on his left knee.

However, that had everything to do with the reckless nature of the striker's challenge and nothing to do with Kennedy's readiness to play at that level.

O'Dea does not have as many first-team appearances as Kennedy had under his belt at that time.

But, like his team-mate, O'Dea has already impressed everyone who has watched him burst through and confirm his quality by excelling on the European stage.

While Kennedy announced his arrival against the likes of Ronaldinho when he faced Barcelona in the Nou Camp, O'Dea did it against Milan's Kaka and Co in the San Siro.

The opportunity only presented itself because Steven Pressley was cup-tied. But O'Dea - who is vying with Evander Sno to be named Celtic's Young Player of the Year - took it with both hands, just as the former Hearts captain knew he would.

Pressley is a veteran of the international stage and echoes Strachan's confidence that, given the call by Staunton - who has one eye on building his squad for the 2010 World Cup campaign - O'Dea would let no-one down.

While he was at Tynecastle, Pressley helped Andy Webster emerge to become a Scotland regular.

Now, working every day alongside Stephen McManus, Gary Caldwell and Kennedy, the 33-year-old still knows what it takes to tick boxes at the top level, and reckons O'Dea fits the bill.

He said: "Darren is a fantastic prospect. He is a lad with an old head on his young shoulders.

"He is level- headed and has acquitted himself superbly since coming into the team.

"After the game in Milan, I said to him that his performance was one of the best I've seen from a young player at that level. I was really delighted for him."

Pressley believes that was just a glimpse of what the future holds for O'Dea, and can understand completely why Celtic moved so quickly to tie him down with a new, long-term contract.

"To top all of this off, he has been named in the Irish squad, which is fantastic for him," said Pressley, who hopes to add to his own cap collection against Italy next week.

"Darren has a big future, and if he continues to improve and learn, he will certainly turn out to be a fantastic player for this club." I've still got an awful lot to learn

THE call up to the Republic of Ireland squad has allowed Darren O'Dea to achieve one more ambition.

But, it has also reminded the 20-year-old how far he still has to go to reach his ultimate goal.

As he prepared for Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier at Croke Park, the young Celt said modestly: "I'm happy with my progress at the moment, but all I've done is play first-team football for six months.

"I look at certain players in the top team at the moment and they have been playing at the top level for 13 or 14 years.

"I've achieved nothing yet. I need to kick on, work harder, train harder and move to the next level."

It is an attitude which has endeared O'Dea to manager Gordon Strachan and to his team-mates.

They appreciated there were no histrionics when the youngster, who played so well against AC Milan in the San Siro Stadium, found himself dropped the following weekend as Steven Pressley became available again.

O'Dea accepted: "Steven deserved to go back in. He'd done nothing wrong and the only reason I was playing against Milan was because he was cup-tied."