Let’s make our World Cup dreams come true: Mcnair
■ We have to make a fast start in ‘must-win’ clash with Bulgaria, declares Paddy
NORTHERN Ireland star Paddy Mcnair has urged his teammates to keep their World Cup dream alive by starting fast and beating Bulgaria at Windsor Park tomorrow night.
The versatile Middlesbrough man reflects on his Euro 2016 experience with pride and joy and believes qualifying for the World Cup finals would be an even bigger buzz. After last week’s 2-0 loss in Italy, he admits that to have a realistic shot at going to Qatar next year, Northern Ireland need to put points on the board against the Bulgarians.
Italy and Switzerland already have six from two games with the Bulgarians on zero having lost to both. Despite not winning a match in 90 minutes since October 2019, when Mcnair excelled in a 3-2 friendly success in the Czech Republic, the former Manchester United ace is confident Northern Ireland fans will be cheering a positive result.
Asked about his desire to play in a World Cup, Mcnair said: “It would be a dream come true. Growing up as a kid, you watch the World Cup and it would be unbelievable to get there.
“The Euros were unbelievable but the World Cup would go one step further. I don’t think words could describe how good that wouldbe.
“I’ve loved my international career so far but in the last 18 months or two years we haven’ t won as many games as we would have liked so hopefully on Wednesday we can get back on a winning run.”
In Ian Baraclough’s tenure as boss, the team have tended to make slow starts. Mcnair says:
“We have to start with high intensity; we can’ t start how we did against Italy.
“The first goal is massive and I just feel in home games in the past we’ve started well and not let the opposition play out from the back. If we can do that and put Bulgaria under pressure from the start, it will definitely help us win the game.
“We just need to believe in ourselves. This is a must-win if we are going to stamp our authority on this group.”