The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
McGinn off on a Dublin voyage of rediscovery
Don hopes Northern Ireland can find form again in friendly
Aberdeen winger Niall McGinn hopes the short trip to Dublin can reinvigorate Northern Ireland as he swaps club football for international.
Michael O’Neill’s side travel to the Aviva Stadium on Thursday for an all-Irish friendly before hosting Austria in the Nations League on Sunday.
Consecutive defeats last month have left Northern Ireland, who are without a win in seven competitive matches, bottom of their Nations League group and relegation to the third tier of the new competition appears likely.
But Don McGinn, who returns to the squad after missing the defeats by Austria and BosniaHerzegovina last month due to injury, is relishing the chance to play in Dublin.
He said: “I am massively looking forward to it because I have missed the last two injury.
“I played the last Nations League match before the last double header and so I am desperate to get back.
“We are playing the Republic of Ireland in Dublin which will be a good occasion and game.
“We also have Austria at home. All in all they are competitive games and Michael is always looking for wins going into the draw for the Euros in March.”
McGinn’s only previous encounter with the Republic of Ireland was a low-key affair but he expects Thursday’s friendly to be a far more vibrant experience.
He said: “I have only played against them once, in the Nations Cup in 2011, and there wasn’t really a big crowd there.
“We’ve played Republic of Ireland behind closed doors and this will be the first time for a long time where it will be open to the public. games through
“It should be a good atmosphere and occasion at the Aviva, which is a lovely stadium with a great pitch.
“It is going to be a tough game but it is one Michael O’Neill will use to bring players into the squad and to have a look at different areas to set us up for another tough game against Austria after that
“Michael has said he is looking for a good atmosphere, much the same way as the Republic and Northern Irish fans behaved in the Euros.
“We are hoping for a good atmosphere and if the fans behave the way they did at the Euros then there will be no problems.”
McGinn’s international team-mate Kyle Lafferty is also back in the fold after apologising for his error of judgment which led to hi withdrawing from the squad last month which prompted the Irish FA to invoke Fifa’s five-day rule which prevented him from playing for Rangers in his next game.