Everton boss Roberto Martinez feels Seamus Coleman is now becoming a club mainstay.
It is his influence off the field as much as on it that has delighted the manager.
Martinez told evertonfc.com: "He has probably benefitted from being given the captaincy for Ireland. But it has been a journey - not one moment - for Seamus.
"In pre-season he was taking things in, trying to get into certain positions on the pitch and then he scored his first goal in the opening fixture. Then going to Ireland and being captain - there have been many key moments that have allowed Seamus to take his mentality to the next level.
"We've got a really good dressing room and I think the characters are infectious, and when you look at the experienced people like Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Tim Howard, Gareth Barry, Leon Osman and the young group of people like Ross Barkley, James McCarthy, Romelu Lukaku - Seamus is in the middle between those two groups.
"He is feeding from both groups and he has been a big influence on the younger players like Gerard Deulofeu, his mentality has really impressed me."
