The competition sees the best University footballers across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland come together in their own teams to then compete against one another.

Dunbar progressed through the trials last year, however this year is not a friendly like it was last year, nonetheless the Mitres’ number nine had an incredible experience.

“I'm very excited, especially after last year. Last year, we actually won the competition - you know, it's quite a personal thing; the North vs South, especially for me.

“It's a great opportunity, I was fortunate last year to come off the bench and score, it was a great achievement for me personally, so I can't wait to get back out there and do the same thing again!”

This year’s ‘University Home Nations’ will be a home tournament for Dunbar and the England squad, with the competition set to take place at Loughborough University, providing added motivation to the Three Lions squad.

“This is the first year back, so for me the aim is obviously to do the same again as last year … get into the full squad and kind of set my spot into that team, and obviously play in that competition and hopefully win it too.”

Cleeve attempted to sign Dunbar back in December 2022, however had to wait until last summer to complete the signing of the former Slimbridge winger, who has hit the ground running at Kayte Lane – a place that he feels at home.

“To anyone who's ever spoke to me about Cleeve before, I always say it's real good club, with a real good bunch of people.

“So, yeah, I'm very happy. The lads are all great with me as well, obviously I'm one of the younger ones - but yeah, they pull me through it and you know, Colly has given me a lot of faith - as well as many others.”

Paul Collicutt is enjoying his second stint as manager of Cleeve, where he has now managed the club for nearly 16 years after returning in July 2020, and his first spell having spanned 12 years.

Collicutt is loved by Europe’s largest village, especially by their team and his relationship with his players; helping them to continue to be ambitious on the pitch…

“I get on with Colly (Paul Collicutt) very well, obviously he said he would put seven days in for me and he has a lot of respect for me, so I have a lot of respect for him.

“Colly said to me when he signed me back in June or whenever it was, he said I want playoffs - that's our target.

“We've been slacking a little bit - all of us, but we've picked ourselves up and we need to go and try and sneak back into those (play-off) places. I think about 10-11 games left so we've got to remain confident within the team and get as many points as we can to try and sneak in, that's all we can do now!”

Dunbar lives his life “like a professional footballer”, anyone who is close to him knows that. However, his determination to always be the best can be challenging at times with the forward being such an integral member of both Bishop’s Cleeve’s and Hartpury University’s squads.

Thankfully for Dunbar, he has an experienced manager in Collicutt who has helped him to balance his ‘professional lifestyle’ since signing.

“He (Collicutt) shows a lot of faith in me. He’s played me in I think almost every game this season, apart from the little GFA Cup games where there's a little clash with Hartpury. But, apart from those I think I've started every game, so - I couldn't be happier.

“You know, he shows me a lot of confidence, a lot of faith, so yeah, I kind of feed off that and hopefully it shows!”

It will be a busy weekend for Dunbar. The Mitres travel to Bashley on Saturday afternoon for their important South League Premier Division clash, hoping for back-to-back league wins for the first time since early January, before Dunbar’s trials on Sunday afternoon at England’s prestigious St George’s Park training facilities.