EURO 2012:Northern Ireland v Faroe Islands

FORMER REPUBLIC of Ireland manager Brian Kerr sympathises with Northern Ireland’s continued loss of young talent to his old side and admits players switching allegiance “doesn’t sit right” with him.

Kerr might seem an unlikely ally for the IFA, not only as a long-time FAI employee but also as boss of tonight’s Euro 2012 qualifying opponents.

But, as someone who spent several years coaching the Republic’s youth sides and who now manages a national side with even thinner resources than Northern Ireland, he is uneasy with incidents like James McClean’s recent switch.

McClean, who completed his move yesterday from Sunderland to Derry City for €400,000, played youth football and under-21s for Northern Ireland only to win a first senior call-up for tonight’s match and reject it.

McClean, like half a dozen others before him, has taken advantage of a Fifa edict that allows players born in Northern Ireland to play for the Republic – a ruling that has its origins in the Good Friday peace agreement.

“It’s not a good situation. It’s a unique situation and a strange one,” he said. “I hope it will change, because it’s not good for a lot of reasons. It doesn’t seem right and it doesn’t sit right with me.

“I sympathise with the IFA because when you invest so much time, energy, money and coaching in players, to see them leave at 21 and 22 must be quite disheartening.

“We (the Faroes) have 47,000 people to pick from scattered around 18 islands and I understand how hard it is to get together a group of players with the quality required to compete against the best teams.”

Nigel Worthington accepts his side need to beat the Faroe Islands to stay in the hunt for a place at Euro 2012 but has warned fans not to expect a walkover.

The Faroes are still regarded as the minnows of Group C but took a point off Worthington’s side in Toftir earlier in the campaign before pulling off a surprise 2-0 victory over Estonia.

They remain bottom of the standings, though, and a poor record away from home means Northern Ireland will be firm favourites to take three points at Windsor Park.

Worthington knows how important victory could be – it would leave his side two points behind second-placed Slovenia with a game in hand – but does not predict they will be allowed to run rampant.

“We need to win and to keep on the heels of the opposition. We still have a game in hand, that’s what we are looking at and that will come through in the team,” he said. “But the Faroes will be well organised and behind the ball. It won’t be easy.”

Worthington’s preparations have not been helped by a spate of absences and withdrawals in attack, with Chris Brunt suspended and Lafferty (hernia), Josh McQuoid (hamstring) and Martin Paterson (thigh) all injured.