Kieren Westwood has dual personalities. He has to, he says. Club football is so different to the international vintage, it's essential. Calm, patient and relaxed on Ireland duty, it's the antithesis of his demeanour when he returns to club duty with Coventry.
The English-born keeper has come a long way since being released by Manchester City in 2004, but he still has obstacles to overcome and goals to achieve.
Ideally, he'd be playing regularly for a top Premier League club and in possession of the Ireland No1 jersey. However, the reality is that he plies his trade at a mid-table Championship club and is back-up to Shay Given at international level.
Both situations could change this month, though, if Coventry decide to cash in on their prize asset and if he manages to take advantage of Given's injury-enforced absence and stake a realistic claim for at least consideration by Giovanni Trapattoni.
'I see this as a big opportunity to establish myself in the squad, not as a potential replacement for Shay because he is one of the best goalies in the world,' said Westwood.
'To establish myself in the squad is the first goal - and I'm not far off doing that. I've been around it for two years now and have got a couple of games here and there.
'I'm delighted to even be called up. Any time the squad is set to be named, I am a little bit nervous and then I see my name and am delighted.'
It's somewhat surprising that Westwood, an agile shot-stopper, still fears for his place in the Ireland squad considering he has three caps and was last week described by Ireland assistant Marco Tardelli as being second choice behind Given.
When he speaks about his standing in the international set-up it is like he resembles a nervous Dr Jekyll-type of character.
Perhaps he has learned not to take things for granted after starting his career with high hopes at City before being discarded without even making it into a single first-team matchday squad.
That brought him to a crossroads and he eventually opted to take the road north by joining Carlisle United who, at that time, were in England's footballing wilderness.
Westwood saw that as part of his footballing education because he played just four games in his first season before taking over as first-choice keeper and helping the Cumbrians to successive promotions.
'I've done it the hard way, so to speak. I went back to the Conference and worked my way back up to the Championship,' he explained.
'I have played a lot of games for a 25-year-old and I am lucky the way it has worked out.'
From Carlisle, he joined Coventry in 2008 where he has been named on the PFA Championship team of the year and was recently voted as Coventry's own player of the year.
With 95 games clocked up for the Sky Blues, he now has some experience behind him and the recent speculation linking him to a number of Premier League clubs has been inevitable in many ways.
It's when he is quizzed on those links that his Mr Hyde side reveals itself, as his ambition to play in the top flight is clear.
'I have another year left [at Coventry]. We will play it by ear,' he said.
'Obviously this is an important time for any footballer because everything is windowed in terms of transfers. So this is a window of opportunity.
'It is out of my hands. The club is in talks with me over a new deal and I am very happy there.'
The club season that just finished was quite mixed for Westwood. He started 46 games and was one of Coventry's best players, but he was also part of a team that finished 19th in the Championship and shipped 64 goals.
Failure to win in their last 11 games cost Chris Coleman his job, as he was sacked as manager just 24 hours after the campaign ended. Yet, despite the instability, Westwood admits to having mixed feelings.
'The season went well for me, but on a team level it finished on a low,' he said. 'The gaffer [Coleman] was quality and I was very sad to see him sacked.'
Aidy Boothroy has since replaced Coleman and one of his first jobs will be to convince Westwood that things are about to change for the better.
The offer of a new contract still exists, but rumours that both Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion are preparing moves for him are rife, even if Westwood doesn't heed them.
'I don't pay a lot of attention to it. Unless the chairman or my agent rings me to say we can do this or that, you cannot really do anything,' stated Westwood.
'I can be flattering. [But] if I was to believe every story I would be playing for Barcelona.'
All that speculation, though, has been pushed to one side for now as Westwood attempts to stay focused ahead of this week's friendly double-header for Ireland.
He will start in Tuesday's match at the RDS against Paraguay, and the manager has hinted that he may keep his place for Friday's outing with Algeria.
Westwood knows that it's a huge vote of confidence from the boss, especially when fellow Championship stoppers Brian Murphy (Ipswich Town) and Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe United) are itching for game time.
A couple of clean sheets and some Kodak-moment saves could be enough to ensure that he has done his job, although he will be wanting more than that as he attempts to seize the rare opportunity presented by Given's unavailability.
And whether it remains to be seen which Kieren Westwood shows up at the RDS on Tuesday, the one thing that is certain is that his ability has elevated him to a level where he is now seen as a top-class keeper for both club and country.