Jussi Jaaskelainen is confident that his decision to retire from international football will only benefit his future years with Bolton Wanderers.
Last week, Wanderers' long-serving goalkeeper brought the curtain down on an 11-year international career by announcing that he would no longer be available for selection for the Finland national team.
It was a choice that wasn't taken lightly given his personal pride in representing his country, but Jaaskelainen believes that to sustain the level of performance that Wanderers fans have come to expect, then it was the perfect time to hang up his gloves for Finland.
Family commitments have also played a part, and with three young children, Jussi believes that his time will be better spent recovering from the day-to-day demands of the Premier League with his family rather than on long-haul flights to destinations as far and wide as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Armenia.
He said: "I feel the time is right because I have at least three or four years left and I want to prolong my playing days for as long as I possibly can.
"It's definitely going to be a benefit because when you are away on international duty there is a lot of travelling involved, and it's not as easy as people think. You get a little bit tired when you have been travelling to games around Europe on a Saturday and Wednesday, and then come back to Bolton for the weekend game and be 100 percent focused.
"There have been players like Brad Friedel, Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes who have benefited by retiring from international football, and I hope that my decision will allow me to continue performing for Bolton Wanderers for many years to come.
"I'm not saying that it has ever affected my performance in the past, but I will now have the time to rest and spend a bit more time with my family. My wife and boys come over to Finland to watch me play, so I had the opportunity to see them whilst I was away, but now I can spend it back in Bolton."
Jaaskelainen won his 55th and final cap in Finland's recent draw with Germany, but it all began in 1998 when he made his first appearance in a friendly with Malta.
It was at a time when he had just moved to England and he was the latest in a long list of goalkeepers from his homeland searching for international recognition. The potential was recognised by Richard Nielsen, who was coach at the time, and he has been a mainstay in the squad ever since.
Jaaskelainen had to bide his time in becoming the undoubted first choice goalkeeper, but over the last half-decade he had nailed down the position as his own, joining Jari Litmanen, Sami Hyypia and Jonatan Johansson as one of the most senior and experienced members of the squad.
He explained: "I first got called up to the national team in 1997 but I had to wait until I had moved to Bolton before I got my first game, and there hasn't been one match since I haven't enjoyed.
"I have been very proud to play with some of the best players that Finland has ever produced. The team spirit has always been great and I am going to miss that, but no one will ever be able to take those experiences and memories away. You only have to look back a couple of months when I played in Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein within the space of a few days - they are places that I probably would never have visited in my life.
"To be able to go and play in all corners of Europe in different environments and against the best players is a privilege, and I have no doubts that it has helped me learn to play football.
"Out of my 55 caps, 31 of those have come in qualifiers. There aren't that many friendlies, so it only works out that I play about seven or eight games a year. I can be happy with the service I have given."
In an international career of undoubted highs, Jussi also revealed that there have been a few moments that he will never forget. One such incident came in Helsinki in 2007 when Finland were tackling Belgium in a Euro 2008 qualifier.
Looking back with a slight smile, Jussi said: "The match was scoreless when from nowhere a massive owl flew into the stadium and perched itself on the crossbar. It swooped around the pitch for a few minutes, flying just a few yards above the pitch and play had to be stopped.
"When we eventually resumed, we scored two quick goals and went on to win the match. The owl has become something of a lucky mascot and ever since that day Finland have been nicknamed 'Huuhkajat', which translates as the 'Eagle Owls'."
Speaking to Jaaskelainen, it is easy to establish that he has very few regrets in his football career, but one disappointment is that he never got the opportunity to represent his country at a major tournament.
There have been narrow misses where the odd goal or extra point would have sealed Finland's participation, but Jaaskelainen is confident that the country's footballing future looks bright.
He added: "In the last two qualifying campaigns we have been very close to reaching the European Championships and the World Cup. Two years ago we missed out by just one goal, and then this time we would have had a very good chance if we hadn't lost both of our matches against Russia. We still had a chance going into the last few qualifiers, but after a nil-nil draw with Liechtenstein then we knew the chance had gone.
"You need a little bit of luck in terms of getting a good draw, and we didn't get that because we had both Russia and Germany in our group,who are two of the biggest and best footballing countries in Europe.We have just lacked that little bit extra that is needed to make it to a tournament.
"The team at the moment is very experienced and the average must be over 30 years-old, and there might be big changes over the next few years. We have to look to the future and I do think that the country can reach a World Cup or European Championships because there are a lot of talented footballers to come from Finland."
By hanging up his gloves, Jaaskelainen feels that he will be giving opportunities to upcoming goalkeepers who are looking for their big break in the game.
Finland has a history of producing fine stoppers with Tepi Moilanen, Peter Enckelman and Antti Niemi all household names to go with that of Jussi Jaaskelainen.
And given the exposure of playing on the international stage, Jaaskelainen wants the new generation of talent to put themselves in the shop window and earn a transfer to one of the major leagues in Europe.
He said: "I will be 35 by the time the qualifiers start and I think that it is time to give the opportunity to young goalkeepers in Finland. There are many who are progressing through the levels and they need the chance to show what they can do on the international stage and try and earn a move to one of the big leagues in Europe.
"Antti Niemi played in the Finland leagues, earned his place in the national team, got a good move to the Premier League and went on to have a good career. It has been the same with me, and so I now want to help by giving that opportunity to someone else.
"If they don't have that chance then they will never get the experience needed to play at that level. There a couple who can go on to have a good international career, but obviously it's the manager Stuart Baxter's decision as to who will play."
