N Ireland ready to do it

NORTHERN IRELAND v SLOVENIA:NORTHERN IRELAND captain Aaron Hughes insists the players are refreshed and ready to cement their place at the top of Group Three tonight when Slovenia arrive at Windsor Park. The Fulham defender and his team-mates ran themselves into the ground to secure a rousing victory against Poland at the weekend. However, Hughes dismissed fears they would have little energy left for their second game in five days.

He believes the recuperation programme under sports scientist Jonny Bloomfield – who was drafted in by manager Nigel Worthington – and his team has been second to none.

“We have been very well looked after since Saturday,” said Hughes. “We did a bit of training yesterday but it was a bit more low key. Then today it was back to normal and got the lads moving again.

“That is the good thing about having Jonny Bloomfield around. The manager likes to look at our heart rates and how we train, if we are doing too much or too little.

“The lads have been relaxed. We have table tennis and darts and DVDs to enjoy. We have also had some time with our families.

“It has been a good time and we all enjoyed the victory. But then you focus on the next game pretty quickly. We are all ready to go again. I think most of lads are used to playing Saturday and midweek. It is nothing new.”

Worthington is calling on his side to round off the season in style and keep the pressure on their rivals.

“There is a carrot for us, knowing we need three points to stay top of the group for a while longer,” he said. “We’re not playing games in the summer, like other teams, but we would be in a relatively good position for the game in Poland in September.

“We know what we’ve got to do, we know how we’ve got to go about it and it’s now a case of going and doing it.”

Motherwell defender Stephen Craigan is doubtful after sitting out training yesterday and he will be assessed this morning.

Worthington is already without Chris Brunt, who is banned after picking up his second yellow card of the campaign in the 3-2 victory against Poland. However, defender George McCartney and midfielder Steven Davis are available again after suspension.