Northern Ireland U21 boss John Schofield says his players are ‘buzzing’ ahead of their Euro qualifiers away to Russia and Spain.
The squad met up on Sunday and the manager, who took charge of his first games last month, says he wants to continue to build a real togetherness in the group.
“The games are against Russia and Spain away. It’s going to be fantastic. The lads are buzzing. We met up yesterday and it’s been great to see everybody. There has been a heck of lot of work that’s gone into this camp so I’d just like to say thank you to all the admin staff who have got everything done,” he said.
“I’ve made a couple of changes to the squad with Paul O’Neill (Cliftonville) coming back and John McGovern (Newry City) who is in the squad for the first time. There’s a lot of talent out there and we’ve got to get our net over them all which we’re doing.
“We want a family atmosphere, and we want a club atmosphere. When you look at teams and they’ve got a real togetherness and they come up against any hurdles they look around and they’ve got friends and acquaintances there that they want to do well for and they want to do well with. That’s all part and parcel of building that togetherness and camaraderie that’s going to make a difference.”
Hear more from the manager and returning striker Paul O’Neill by clicking on the video below.
