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Ryan departed Real Sociedad in search of just that at the start of the 2022-23 campaign and quickly established himself in goal as Kamil Grabara recovered from a facial injury.
Five clean sheets in 11 games weren’t enough to spare the 30-year-old from criticism, however, with Grabara’s return prompting Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup to make the change amid an inconsistent start to the Danish Superliga.
The extended spell on the sidelines has come at the worst time for Ryan, who could face stiff competition for a Socceroos starting berth following the return of Mitchell Langerak and presence of Andrew Redmayne.
Despite the growing pressure to perform, the 30-year-old shot-stopper remains confident in his ability, having adjusted his own training methods in order to make up for lost game time.
“Unfortunately, it’s been a situation that I’ve been familiar with recently,” Ryan told SBS Sport.
“Obviously I made the move with the intentions of playing regularly. It started off that way, but circumstances have unfolded here and I haven’t seen a lot of game time recently.
“As long as you’re doing the job on the pitch, everything else, in some respect, becomes irrelevant. As long as the player is out there and is performing and producing to the level that the manager sees fit for the team, I think the circumstance of the individual is a bit irrelevant.
“I’ve been pretty content with the consistency that I’ve played at during this period where I haven’t been playing regularly for my club but it’s nothing new to me.
“I’ve just been trying to hone in on those things that have helped me in this scenario until now, and that’s trying to manipulate every training session into a match-type scenario and intensity.
“I feel like you tick all the boxes in that sense. It keeps me as sharp as I can be, keeps me fit – not only for the national team – but if there’s an opportunity here for my club… I feel like I’m ready to take full advantage of those opportunities when they come around.”
This isn’t the first time Ryan has had to bide his time on the bench – in fact, that’s exactly how the Socceroos secured their qualification for the tournament in Qatar.
With scores locked and the end of extra-time fast approaching in their intercontinental play-off against Peru, Graham Arnold’s decision to bring Ryan off for Redmayne left Australians stunned ahead of the all-important penalty shootout.
What happened next left them ecstatic, with Redmayne producing one of the most iconic Socceroos moments since Mark Schwarzer’s own heroics in 2005.
Emulating Schwarzer was a task Ryan himself had been mentally preparing for as the match wore on, which only added to his confusion when he heard Arnold call his name.
“It definitely caught me by surprise when there was a substitution made in the 119th minute. Me, doing what I normally do in those scenarios, I tried to chat with a couple of defenders about the game tactically and all of a sudden, I heard my name being shouted.
“I looked across, I could see Redmayne, Arnold and all that waving me over and I sort of had to do a double-take and ask them the question, ‘are you sure?’ Sure enough, Arnold had made that decision.”
“The culture we want to create within here, and what we’re always preaching, is that no one is bigger than the team and that whatever decision is made by Arnie is made towards what’s best for the team,” he added.
“I can understand the approach of making that substitution; Redmayne with the physicality, he’s a big lurch of an individual and him coming on would have had a mental impact on the Peruvians as well, thinking we had a specialist coming on.
“So, I definitely understand that side of it but there was a part of me that was disappointed.”
Securing Australia’s spot at a fifth consecutive World Cup would have tempered that disappointment, particularly as Ryan prepares for his third trip to the world’s greatest stage.
Circumstances in Copenhagen haven’t hindered his place as Socceroos captain thus far, and the former Brighton and Hove Albion gloveman is eager to keep it that way in Qatar.
“There’s nothing like it. There is no other campaign that can mimic something that is amplified like a World Cup game and World Cup campaign,” Ryan said.
“To have that in just a few days now, a week-and-a-half before we begin, it’s another dream about to come true and I’m doing all I can to make sure that I can produce the best that I can for our country.”
