THE WHIRLWIND SHIMMY WHYTE

Dallas reckons livewire Gavin has arrived on cue to whip up a storm for Northern Ireland in Euro 2020 qualifiers

STUART DALLAS believes Gavin Whyte has the tools to provide an attacking spark for Northern Ireland in next year’s Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Livewire Oxford United star Whyte has enjoyed a whirlwind introduction to the international arena and quickly established himself as a fleet-footed option on the right wing for Michael O’neill (inset).

Last year’s Irish League player of the year scored with his first touch in a headline grabbing debut in September’s 3-0 friendly win over Israel.

He also twice rattled the post in last month’s 2-0 defeat to Bosnia in Sarajevo and was denied by a fantastic Darren Randolph save in last week’s 0-0 draw with the Republic.

Dallas, who like Whyte made his name with Crusaders before earning a move to England, feels the 22-year-old has taken his chance with both hands.

“Gavin’s done really well,” he said. “Similar to myself, it’s good to see him making that jump after playing in the Irish League.

“He has come into a really good group here. We’ll take good care of him and make sure he keeps progressing.

“He just needs to keep his head down and continue working hard. If he does that, I’m sure he can go on to be a real star in this team.”

Dallas also claims Whyte boasts a quality you don’t find in coaching manuals – an instinct for getting into goal scoring positions.

As well as his poacher’s goal against Israel, he was unlucky not to score against Bosnia and on another day, his close range effort at Aviva Stadium would have fizzed past the sprawling body of Randolph.

“We were just talking about it in the changing-room after the game in Dublin,” said Dallas. “Gavin’s got a knack for scoring goals and he gets himself in good positions.

“He’s had a few chances to score and with a little more luck he could maybe have three or four international goals by now.

“He’s a good kid and he’ll learn from it. I know he wants to continue to learn and he’s only going to get better.”

While Northern Ireland have struggled for goals in recent times – only seven were scored in nine games across the calendar year – O’neill’s men have been creating chances.

Dallas said: “You’ve seen in the recent performances how we’ve been playing and how much we’ve progressed. The boys are full of confidence and we’ve just got to keep believing.”

Next on the agenda are the Euro 2020 qualifiers in March, with the draw scheduled for Dublin on December 2.

“It’ll be nice to see who we draw at the start of next month,” added Dallas.

DENIED Darren Randolph had to be at his best to stop Whyte from scoring at Aviva Stadium last week SHAPED CRUSADERS Stuart Dallas and Gavin Whyte both learned their trade with Irish League champions