Pico Lopes feels back to his best after revealing how emotionally drained he was by Cape Verde’s dramatic AFCON exit.
And with scope to go top of the table by Monday night - with home games against Galway and Drogheda - he reckons Shamrock Rovers are starting to motor too.
Lopes was key to Cape Verde’s run to the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, after progressing from a group with Ghana, Egypt and Mozambique.
But they lost an agonising penalty shootout to South Africa and Lopes admits it knocked the stuffing out of him and his team-mates.
“It was tough mentally, especially off the back of the previous AFCON where that was down to illness (the squad was hit by food poisoning).
“The way we went out this time, we’re a bit bitter about that.”
Lopes didn’t take a penalty but said: “We met up on January 1 and there were lads practising penos after every training session.
“Then, the night before the game, we practised penos and I ballooned mine over the bar so I said ‘Right, I’ll put my name further down the list’.
“I had full confidence in everyone stepping up, unfortunately it didn’t go our way on the night.”
Lopes continued: “There’s a comedown with the emotion being so high because we thought we could progress to the semi-final. That hit us hard.
“We had two players announce their retirement in the dressing room after the game and that was hard. They were really good to me when I came in and helped me settle.
“So there’s that sort of lull and you’re in your own bubble. You’re in a high pressure environment and you can’t really switch off.
“That’s probably something I didn’t really cater for until I got back home and realised I had to say ‘I’m just a bit down here’.
“I was on a bit of a comedown from the tournament. I had a bit of time off which was great. I got away and switched off and came back a lot more refreshed.
“I needed the break. It was something we talked about before I went away, but I wasn’t expecting the time off that I did get.
“I was a bit, ‘Are you sure?’ but once I took it, I realised it was definitely needed.”
Lopes sat out the President’s Cup win over St Pat’s and also the first two league games against Dundalk and Shelbourne, and then got two minutes against Derry.
But the centre-back, 31, has played in the last eight matches - starting seven of them - and has slotted back into his usual rhythm with the Hoops now finding theirs.
AFCON takes place in Morocco next year, but next up for Cape Verde are World Cup qualifiers away to Cameroon and home to Libya in June.
But Lopes will miss one, if not both, of those games on June 3 and June 10 respectively due to his wedding.
He could miss league games too - Rovers play Galway and Bohs around then - as the League of Ireland break is later than normal, to coincide with the start of the Euros.
“I was only thinking, could we squeeze in a honeymoon in Cape Verde when we're over there!,” he laughed.
“No look, the wedding is booked a long time and it's something I've wanted to do for a long time and that takes precedence over everything.
“I thought (when booking the venue) it was going to be the mid-season break. I don’t know yet about the Rovers games as there’s a lot of moving pieces.”
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Pico Lopes believes the power of football can help relieve some of the anti-immigration tension in Ireland.
The Shamrock Rovers defender has helped launch Africa Day 2024, with nationwide events - including a free family day at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham - on May 19.
Born and raised in Crumlin, Lopes has become a key player for Cape Verde with 30 caps and two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments under his belt since his 2019 debut.
Representing his father’s country has been one of the proudest moments of the 31-year-old’s career and he says the multicultural nature of football must be embraced.
Lopes said: “Football has always played a part in bringing communities together.
“At Shamrock Rovers and all across the League of Ireland, we have people from different ethnic backgrounds and different heritage.
“It's about giving people a platform to showcase where they are from. This is why the Afrida Day will be brilliant, you'll get a real taste of the African community.
“You look at the national team now with players like Chiedozie Ogbene (born in Nigeria) who comes from dual heritage.
“He's an icon now and if people have a problem with someone like him, they need to look inwards.”
Anti-immigration protests have become a regular occurrence in Ireland in recent years, with a number of ugly flashpoints..
Lopes added: “There are a lot of people using certain rallies to spread their own hatred or point the finger at someone else, which is ludicrous to me.
“Hopefully we can eradicate it because I think people are copping on that it's just people who want to be rebellious for the sake of being rebellious.
“There’s no substance behind their arguments.
“There are a lot of really good people in the community. If they come into the country and are respectful, there’s no issue. It doesn't matter where you're from.”
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