From the highs of the European Championship finals with Northern Ireland to the lows of playing under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Queens Park Rangers, the past 12 months have been a rollercoaster of emotions for Conor Washington.

It is a year ago tomorrow that Washington made his debut for Northern Ireland against Wales and three months later he was playing against the same opposition in the last 16 of the Euros, the culmination of an extraordinary journey from non-league football obscurity to one of the showpieces of the international calendar.

But the former postman’s bubble was burst soon after the fairytale in France as his confidence and form nosedived under Hasselbaink at QPR, a manager he admits he ended up holding in contempt.

But Hasselbaink’s sacking and the arrival of Ian Holloway at Loftus Road triggered a dramatic turnaround in fortunes and the striker goes into Northern Ireland’s crucial World Cup qualifying tie against Norway at Windsor Park on Sunday with a spring back in his step and dreams of Russia 2018 firmly in mind.

“Within the year I’ve gone from the highest point to the lowest point back to where I am now,” Washington said. “It’s so important to have that confidence and it’s mad how quickly things can change.