The Boro defender is part of the Republic of Ireland squad which faces a double header against France for a place in the 2010 World Cup finals.
St Ledger: “I have obviously got two big, big internationals coming up, that are vital to football in Ireland.
“They are probably the two biggest games of my career so far - if I start - and I can’t wait to test myself against some of the best players around.
“When I came to Middlesbrough I came to take on the best around, to get the club back up and be playing against the best in the Premier League and that’s what I still want to achieve this season.
“But now I have these two massive games coming up and I want to prove that I am a World Cup player.
“The gaffer is treating the play-offs as if they are two World Cup finals.
“That’s how big these games are for us. We have a chance to play in the World Cup and as players it doesn’t get any bigger than that. But the whole country is buzzing too. The people there know this is the chance to bring back the feel-good factor around Irish football again.
“The Jack Charlton days of World Cups in Italy and the USA were the glory days for Ireland and we are so close to maybe doing that again.
“We have not had the success in recent years but Mr Trapattoni has come in and he has us believing we can really go on and achieve things.
“The French team have great players.
“But they only finished second in their group so they clearly are not firing on all cylinders.
“We would have liked to have done it automatically but it wasn’t to be, we just have to make sure it happens this time. I feel everyone feels like we can beat them.”
FULL LIST OF TEAMS AT 2010 WORLD CUP (so far)
HOSTS: South Africa
AFRICA QUALIFYING: Ghana, Ivory Coast
ASIA QUALIFYING: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea
EUROPE QUALIFYING: Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
SOUTH AMERICA QUALIFYING: Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina
NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA AND QUALIFYING: United States, Mexico, Honduras
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