 Although he was named the FAI Youth Player of the Year in 1995 he failed to earn a professional contract at Old Trafford, however, and after a brief detour to Oldham returned to Ireland in the summer of 1996, having been offered a contract by League of Ireland club, Shelbourne.He made his League of Ireland debut at UCD on 15 December 1995 and would remain a fixture in the Shels line-up for the remainder of the decade, but rose to wider prominence as a member of Brian Kerr's Republic of Ireland squad which placed third at the 1997 FIFA Under-20 World Cup.Baker famously headed the opening goal of Ireland's 2–1 victory over Ghana in the third/fourth place play-off after less than a minute of play had elapsed .