Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy hopes to name an unchanged team against Bulgaria on Wednesday. McIlroy was delighted with his side's performance and attitude during Saturday's 1-0 defeat against the Czech Republic at Windsor Park and he wants more of the same. Skipper Jim Magilton is the only doubt going into the World Cup qualifier in Sofia and the Ipswich midfielder sat out training yesterday with thigh and hamstring strains.
However, McIlroy was confident Magilton would be able to train today and lead the Irish against Bulgaria. "With commitment like we showed against the Czechs, I would be a fool to say I'm going to make one or two changes," he said. "All this rotation that goes on these days is fine, but I thought all the players were absolutely magnificent on Saturday. That's no disrespect to the rest of the squad and I thought Glenn Ferguson and Tippy Gray did brilliantly when they came on near the end and they almost got a goal for us. Jim has a bit of a thigh and hamstring problem and he just took it easy yesterday. I hope he will be able to train with the rest of the team when we arrive in Bulgaria. We'll see how he is then and take it from there, but hopefully it will be the same team again."
The Irish flew out by charter to Sofia today and McIlroy wants his side to produce a repeat performance against Bulgaria on Wednesday. He added: "We want to go out against Bulgaria and show the same commitment and determination as we showed against the Czechs. We know it will be tough, and every game is going to be hard now, but if we could get three points against Bulgaria that would be a great boost. I think we are improving, I really do, and I want us to continue improving." (PA)
Filed by Shane Murray
