MCCANN’S FAITH IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Former St Johnstone star Ali McCann has been a Northern Ireland international for only a little over 18 months – but seems to have been around much longer. Since making his debut against Austria in November 2020, McCann has collected 14 caps, featuring in three-quarters of Northern Ireland’s games and starting 12 of them.

The midfielder, 22, who left Perth for Preston last August, became the second of 13 players – after Dan Ballard – to be handed his debut by boss Ian Baraclough. McCann grabbed the chance and he was trusted in World Cup qualifiers against Italy and Switzerland.

He said: “I’m certainly getting more senior but I wouldn’t say I’m senior yet because you see the experience throughout the group, there’s lads that have been here for years. “There are role models in the group that everyone should look up to like Steven Davis and Jonny Evans, but as the camp has been going there’s been more and more young lads so I’m feeling more and more settled in it.”

McCann was 20 when he received his first call-up, but Northern Ireland’s squad has been getting ever younger, with teenagers Conor Bradley, Shea Charles and Brodie Spencer now getting their chance.

The transition to a younger squad, partly enforced by injuries, has been a contributing factor to a disappointing international window to date for Northern Ireland, who have yet to find a way to end their long-standing winless record in the Nations League. Thursday’s 3-2 defeat by Kosovo leaves Baraclough under increasing pressure after fans turned on him. But McCann believes the rewards will come in the long term, given three more players have made their debuts. “There are loads of senior players out but it does give those opportunities for younger lads coming in,” he said. “The more experience, myself included, that we can all get, on these trips it can only bode well for the future and hopefully the fans have been seeing the quality we do have from the younger ages.”