I’D GLOVE TO BE A GREAT..

Keeper Bailey wants to emulate legends Jennings & Gregg

LEEDS United youngster Bailey Peacock-farrell is hoping to walk in the footsteps of iconic former Northern Ireland goalkeepers Pat Jennings and Harry Gregg.

The Darlington-born shot-stopper, who qualifies through his Enniskillenborn grandfather, knows he has work to do to establish himself as Michael O’neill’s No1.

Motherwell’s Trevor Carson and Michael Mcgovern, who starred at Euro 2016, are both in the frame to face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday.

But the 21-year-old, who made his debut in a scoreless draw with Panama on the summer tour of Central America, is keen to “set the bar high”.

“It would be a privilege to make the position mine,” he said. “A goalkeeper’s career can be 15 or 20 years, so If I can maximise that then I’ve got a long future ahead of me.

“It would mean a great deal if I could manage to be No1 at such a young age. It would be a massive achievement.” Asked what it would mean to add his name to a legendary back catalogue of former Northern Ireland goalkeepers, he replied: “A great deal.”

Jennings won 119 caps and played at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, while Munich Disaster survivor Harry Gregg starred at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

Add in 88-times capped Maik Taylor, now on O’neill’s coaching staff, and Tommy Wright, currently managing at St Johnstone, and the Leeds keeper has big shoes to fill.

“To join that list would be great,” he said. “If I can manage to be a part of that, it would mean a great deal but we’ve got two other really good goalkeepers here.

“To say being No.1 at Leeds makes me No.1 here, you can’t really go along those lines. You’ve just got to train hard and then it’s up to the manager.”

Rejected as a teenager by Middlesbrough, Peacock-farrell has kept three clean sheets in six games for Leeds this season under new boss Marcelo Bielsa.

The Yorkshire giants lie at the Championship summit, above Boro on goal difference, and are favourites to gain promotion back to the top flight for the first time since 2004.

“It would be massive,” said Peacock-farrell. “The club has been in the Championship for a long time, but it’s on the rise and deserves to be in the

Premier League.”

And does he ever reflect on the journey he has made since being told by Middlesbrough he was too small to become a top class goalkeeper? “Sometimes I wish I could meet that person and give them a handshake or whatever,” he smiled. “No, I’ve completely forgotten about it and I wouldn’t change anything.”

Peacock-farrell hopes to play a key role in Northern Ireland’s UEFA Nations League pool which includes Bosnia and Herzegovina and Austria.

He also drew loud laughter when asked to explain the complex format of the competition.

He said: “We watched a video on the UEFA website, so I would pass you on to that website!”