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Northern Ireland keeper Michael McGovern reaching high at Euro 2016

Northern Ireland keeper Michael McGovern is looking forward to the game against Germany
Northern Ireland keeper Michael McGovern is looking forward to the game against Germany Northern Ireland keeper Michael McGovern is looking forward to the game against Germany

YOU might not expect a goalkeeper to welcome the bar being raised but Michael McGovern is reaching higher and higher.

The Northern Ireland shot-stopper is seeking to build on the momentous Euros victory over Ukraine by achieving a result against Germany that would secure progress to the last 16.

“We have given ourselves a platform to qualify and that’s all we wanted to do. If we can play like that against Germany then we might be able to get a result against them but we know it’s going to be very, very hard.”

The 31-year-old accepted that external expectations may have been raised by the 2-0 win in Lyon on Thursday night against a team ranked 19th in the world:

“Maybe that will be the case from now on. But within this group of players we know what we are capable of and we know we can get results against anybody.

“The fans back us all the way too – whether it’s good or bad – and you can’t ask for any more than that.”

The defensive display against Ukraine, bringing a fifth NI clean sheet in seven matches, with only Poland’s goal coming from open play, has given McGovern great confidence:

“I know Germany have got some great attacking players who we see all the time on TV but personally I won’t be daunted by that.

“Maybe I won’t have faced players who are that good before but at the end of the day it’s 11 v 11 and a football game.

“Of course we have to guard against them because they are quality players but against Ukraine we nullified their quality players Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka and that’s the reason we won the game.”

Defending isn’t just about sitting back, of course, and McGovern was delighted to see much more aggression from his colleagues in their second Group C game:

“We didn’t produce that kind of display against Poland and that was why it was so disappointing; we didn’t get in their faces and show our character but against Ukraine we did. We believed we were a good team, we were aggressive and showed what we are all about.”

The likelihood is that brilliant Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will be at the opposite end of the pitch in the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, a comparison that Enniskillen man McGovern will relish:

“He’s in the top five of world goalkeepers, maybe even the top one – he’s excellent and I’m looking forward to playing against him.”

Given that Germany still require a point to be certain of reaching the last 16, they are unlikely to alter their team too much, but McGovern knows the task will be extremely tough:

“We have to wait and see what kind of mindset they will have for the game with us but they have a very talented squad of 23 players so whatever team they play they will be top players. But regardless of how they play, by beating Ukraine we have given ourselves a chance to qualify.

“When we qualified against Greece the aim was to come to France and do something – but we want more now.”

WATCH: @nmcginn10 on scoring THAT goal! #GAWA ?? pic.twitter.com/Y4T6wRNe4l — Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) June 17, 2016

McGovern might also welcome having a few more saves to make against Germany than his team-mates allowed against Poland and Ukraine as he is in the proverbial ‘shop window’ in terms of his club career.

He laughed off light-hearted mentions of England striker Jamie Vardy, who has to choose between staying with champions Leicester City or going to Arsenal, saying:

“It is slightly different to him. My contract with Hamilton finishes in two weeks. Obviously I am looking to get something sorted then. But I am doing OK at the minute.”

Swedish star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is apparently not allowed out to complete his next club move – reportedly to Manchester United – but McGovern insists he’s not thinking about that:

“I have not really done anything about it, I haven’t made any contact with anyone. My main focus is on Northern Ireland.

“You are at different clubs throughout your career and have ups and downs but this might never come again. I want to give it my total focus.

“I have an agent to look at that side of things. Playing well at this level will help as well”.