AS his postman would surely attest, there is usually an extra item of mail for the Shiels household on international weeks.
Standby letters from the Northern Irish FA drop through his letter box as regularly as the rest of us get utility bills or final warning notices.
While it is always good to receive correspondence, it has become a depressing ritual that there is no follow-up call, especially considering 18 months ago the Rangers playmaker was a fundamental part of Michael O'Neill's plans and in his absence, Northern Ireland have pieced together their best qualifying campaign for decades. While O'Neill is based in Edinburgh and is a regular presence at SPFL matches, for most of the season he could have attended as many Scottish games as he liked and still not seen Shiels in action.
Thankfully for his sake, the 30-year-old's luck might just be turning. While his father Kenny may blame his move to Rangers for ruining Dean's career, the arrival of Stuart McCall might just be starting to save it. The former Motherwell manager has included him in his squads for the last three games, a period which has happily coincided with the team achieving back-to-back wins for the first time in months. Shiels now has the remainder of this season and another year on his contract to change the narrative of his Ibrox career forever.
"It's heartbreaking that I've not been involved," said Shiels. "I never went to Hampden; I watched the Scotland and Finland games on TV. Obviously I want to see them do well but the European Championships are still a season and a bit away. Hopefully, if I can get regular football, that's a goal I want to achieve. There's a really good chance we'll qualify. About 18 months ago I was starting for them regularly so it's got to be a target for me to get back involved in the squad again.
"Michael has done a great job and I really enjoyed playing for him when I was involved. He's given the whole country a lift. Every Northern Irish person has a bit of pride and belief. I've been a part of it and I want to get back in and become involved again. I know Michael goes to a lot of games in Scotland but I haven't spoken to him in a couple of months. I've still been getting my standby letter for each squad but that's as far as the contact has been. I wasn't expecting to be in the squads. You've got to play - you can't just not play for your club and get picked for internationals trying to help them qualify for a big tournament. You've got to be playing and I totally understand that. There's loads of time for that to happen but I'm only thinking about Rangers."
Shiels has successfully parked his disappointment at what his Ibrox career might have been. He simply isn't interested in discussing the ins and outs of why his face didn't fit under Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall, he just wants the chance to prove that he is a better player now than when he first joined.
"Maybe in a way I have been given a second chance at Rangers," he said. "But we aren't thinking about it individually at the moment. I'm not trying to be selfish. I just want to get the team promoted. I feel fresh. I feel strong. I haven't played a lot of games, I've only been in the team for three weeks, and I am feeling really fresh. Some of the lads who have played 30 or 40 games will be feeling a bit tired or leggy but I am fresh and I hope I can use that to my advantage. I'm not going to go into details but I am probably a better player now than I was when I signed for Rangers. I'm older and more comfortable. I feel as confident as I did the day I came in."
A pep talk with a quizzical McCall, who asked him to his face why he hadn't played more regularly, was the start of it. "I remember that chat," said Shiels. "He has given me a lift and he's given a few of us a lift. Temps [David Templeton] hasn't been playing and there are a few who are the same. Everyone is starting from scratch again and the jerseys are there. Whoever gets them, it's up to them to keep it. Thankfully I've got myself involved at the minute and hopefully I can continue that way. It's very clear what I need to do. We go through a lot of work and there's a different session every day on how to prepare for the weekend's game. There's a lot of in-depth detail and it's very clear what is asked of us when we go out over the line."
Such attention to detail could yet change the big picture of Shiels' career for both club and country.
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