Questions and answers with the new Northern Ireland manager
QUESTION: When picking this squad for the Nations League games against Romania and Norway, did you have one eye on October’s big Euro 2020 play-off semi-final in Bosnia? IAN BARACLOUGH: We have done work on Bosnia and will be watching their games with a keen eye in the Nations League but we have tried to focus fully on Romania and Norway. It is important we get off to a good start in the Nations League. We want to hit the ground running. I certainly want to hit the ground running in terms of my tenure and there is a long time to go and a lot of football between now and the Bosnian game.
Q: You have included Kyle Lafferty following his move to Reggina in Italy. How is he? IB: I spoke to Kyle last week to see how he’s settling in in Italy. He’s enjoying his early life there, training very hard. He’s in lockdown in training camp and he says they are being put through their paces. Reggina is a club who got promoted last season and they want to go straight into Serie A if possible and they see Kyle as the big striker down the middle who can help them. Hopefully he can get back to his goalscoring exploits he showed in qualifying for Euro 2016. We’ve got a player on our hands if that happens.
Q: Jordan Jones (left) seems surplus to requirements at Rangers. Any doubts about selecting him? IB: Jordan is someone I have spoken to several times. I want to help players be settled at their clubs or find new clubs and be there for them to pick up a phone and speak to and, if we can help them in any shape or form, it is our job to do that. Jordan is an exciting talent and he wants to play football and regular games to give himself the best chance of performing on the international stage. He is talented but, at this moment in time, Rangers is a competitive squad and Steven Gerrard has spoken to him and said he can find a new club if that comes up. Hopefully that can be sorted pretty soon and hopefully he can get settled into a new club, new surroundings and then he can go and perform for us like we think he can. We have real exciting, young players with pace and an eye for goal and Jordan is one of those.
Q: Can you tell us how you have dealt with the global pandemic in relation to preparing for the Nations League double header? IB: I’ve kept in touch with clubs, coaches and managers, had conversations with them at different times, but I think all the players are aware of what we need to do in terms of the health and safety of players and of others. That’s paramount. Uefa are putting a lot of trust in us as associations that we do things right. We’ll be regularly tested, players will be tested before they come into the squad and we all meet up and create our ‘bubble’. We’ll travel as a squad together. We have to make sure that people, players and everybody to do with the squad stay within that bubble. We’re fully aware of the situation globally and how this pandemic has affected the whole world. People have lost their lives so we can’t be flippant when we get together and are given the privilege of playing football.