The Shamrock Rovers defender lined out for Cape Verde, whose performances were one of the biggest stories of this year’s World Cup.

Pico Lopes admits it took him time to come to terms with the demands of his new-found World Cup fame.

The Shamrock Rovers defender lined out for one of the most celebrated teams at this year’s tournament, as Cape Verde held eventual winners Spain to a draw and bowed out to Argentina in extra-time.

Lopes, who is potentially one game away from winning his sixth Premier Division title when the Hoops face Sligo Rovers on Friday night, was one of the key players for the World Cup debut-makers, along with goalkeeper Vozinha.

His performances even drew interest from as far away as Brazil, where giants Sao Paulo had registered their interest in the 34-year-old.

Lopes returned home to a hero’s welcome - and to an unprecedented level of off-field activities, including school appearances, commercial opportunities and corporate talks.

His Hoops boss Stephen Bradley recently spoke about how his captain needed time to come to terms with his “overnight stardom” - which he had to balance with his on-field responsibilities and his role as a new dad to son Diego, who has just turned one.

Lopes, speaking for the first time about life after his incredible World Cup adventure, admitted: “It was busy.

“Obviously there was a lot of noise when I came back, which was probably to be expected. How much there was blew my mind a little bit.

“But I’ve had some really good people around me to keep me grounded.

“The best thing I had was the football schedule to try to focus on. Getting back into that was great, because that was normal, that’s what I do, and everything else is sort of a bit of noise and a distraction.

“But getting a handle on that for the run-in has been really important. Playing football with something to compete for at the end of the season is where you feel most comfortable.”

Lopes admitted that it took time to adapt, saying: “It’s something I didn’t have to deal with before. You are used to being talked about, but not to that scale and magnitude.

“That took time and it had to take time to adjust to things and sift through some stuff.

“But I am happy with where I am now and how I am managing it. As I say, to be in this position both on and off the pitch, I’m happy.”

Lopes paid tribute to his manager for giving him the space to capitalise on his new-found fame, and for trusting him to learn when to say no.

“The manager understood exactly what kind of opportunities were coming up, he could appreciate how significant they could be,” said the centre-half.

“We had some great conversations and he was fully backing me.

“I knew it myself and to hear it from a manager was really reassuring that I don’t have to put myself everywhere and split myself into 50 pieces.

“To have that reassurance from him was strong for me to hear.

“(There were) offers to do this and that, could you make appearances here and do this. You just don’t have the time.

“You want to help everybody but I have a family as well, you want to spend family time after your day job. You can’t give it to everybody else and not to them.

“It was just the sheer volume that was coming in. Some made sense and some didn’t.”

Lopes hasn’t yet had a chance to reflect on his summer, when he became the first active League of Ireland player to line out at the World Cup.

“The way our league is shaped as a summer league, and coming back off the world cup into the business end, I don’t think it’s the right time to reflect,” he said.

“If you’re looking back you’re getting hit by what is coming in front of you.

“Hopefully we can finish this season strong, hopefully we have a league winners’ medal in our hands and over Christmas will be a nice time to reflect.

“To really look back fondly on it we need to finish out what we’re doing.”