Saturday 3 September 2016 11:08, UK
Aberdeen defender Callum Morris is delighted to be part of the Northern Ireland squad after almost giving up football four years ago.
The 26-year-old earned his first international call-up on Tuesday when Michael O'Neill drafted him in to replace the injured Craig Cathcart and Tom Flanagan for Sunday's opening World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic at the Generali Arena in Prague.
Morris, a former Newcastle youth centre-back, was playing non-league football for Morpeth Town in 2012 and was contemplating packing in football when he was invited for a trial with Dunfermline.
He accepted a full-time contract with the Scottish club and has since moved on to Dundee United before signing a one-year contract with Aberdeen in June.
"I have had a rollercoaster career is probably the best way to describe it," Morris told Sky Sports News HQ.
"I was playing non-league football - just about to kind of pack it in almost - and I moved up to Scotland [after] I got a chance to join Dunfermline, and I have kicked on from there.
"It's been a tough journey but the rewards are brilliant when you get a phone call like I did on Tuesday night, so I am over the moon.
"It's just about not giving up I think - just to get that break just proved to myself that I have still got the ability to keep stepping up and kicking on; which I have done and it's been great so far."
