Northern Ireland will be relieved that Lafferty’s problem is not serious ahead of their opening Euro 2016 game against Poland on Sunday.
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“That shows we have a real goal threat and can cause problems”.
O’Neill has been largely credited with helping instill that strong sense of unity among the Northern Ireland squad, and the 46-year-old also has a knack for bringing the best out of his players with his man-management style.
While the Limavady man hopes that Northern Ireland can shock a few of the bigger names during the month-long tournament, there’s one person who will be cheering him on no matter what – mum Gwyneth.
“It’s not just down to one (Ireland) player either, it’s the communication from the back four to the midfield, and that’s going to be key”.
In quotes carried in The Belfast Telegraph on Tuesday, three-time French footballer of the year Alain Giresse claimed Michael side are “far too limited” technically to compete with Group C rivals Germany, Poland and Ukraine when they begin their campaign this weekend.
Celebrating the historic and remarkable achievement that both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland teams have qualified for the tournament, Tourism Ireland has created a new online film – bringing the attractive game together with some of the most handsome places on the island of Ireland.
O’Neill’s side have been the outsiders before, though, and they became the first club from pot five to top a European Championship qualifying campaign to reach their first finals since the 1986 World Cup.
He’s played in different midfield roles for the Royals this season, so I wanted to find out what impact he had on his national side. The press I’m getting, the things people say about me, I love all that.
Those punters may not have known the identity or career trajectories of numerous Northern Irish players and McLaughlin and Washington own two of the better back-stories in the camp. “I think it’s a really easy group for a player to come into and fit in, which again is testament to the players and how they react to each other”.
His son Jason, a bookie, said: “I am pretty confident”.
With Poland to play on Sunday, followed by Ukraine and then Germany, the matches get progressively more hard for O’Neill on the pitch.
“It was all fine until, our understanding is, a group of around 30 to 40 locals turned up, I think with the intention of provoking the England fans to see if they could get a rise out of them”.
Those statistics would likely have been kept out of the dossier O’Neill has compiled highlighting the possible weaknesses of each opposition player.
“We have momentum and we want to keep that going”.
With the help of some NI fans, we assessed how Norwood will be used this summer in France.
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