Soccer

Norwood has Evans brothers & Ferguson to thank for France

Oliver Norwood rides a tackle from Finland's Paulus Arajuuri during last Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki<br />Picture: PA&nbsp;
Oliver Norwood rides a tackle from Finland's Paulus Arajuuri during last Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki
Picture: PA 
Oliver Norwood rides a tackle from Finland's Paulus Arajuuri during last Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki
Picture: PA 

THERE may be only one current Manchester United player in the Northern Ireland squad, but Oliver Norwood has hailed the influence of the Old Trafford outfit.

Paddy McNair is the only Red Devil in green at present, but Norwood is among those who got their grounding in the game under the legendary Alex Ferguson, along with the Evans brothers, Jonny and Corry, and Craig Cathcart.

Norwood commented: “It might sound silly, but we were brought up properly. We worked under the regime of the best manager who’s ever managed in football, Sir Alex Ferguson.

“What he passed through that club, to the youth team, to every academy boy... that’s something we can look back on with pride. We were all together there and now we’re all together here at Northern Ireland. We were brought up in a proper football club, training every day with world class players, but they’re just normal people.

“I don’t think you’ll ever see a ‘big time Charlie’ coming out of that Manchester United system because it’s not allowed there.”

Manchester United also helped Norwood onto the international scene in another way, in the form of the Evans brothers persuading him to switch his allegiance to Northern Ireland under the ‘grandparent rule’, as he recalls: “It’s thanks to Corry and Jonny that I came aboard five or six years ago and I’m grateful to them for tapping me up now!

“It was very easy to be fair, it was a chance to play international football. It’s a decision I’m really proud of and glad that I took.”

Norwood is also pleased to be one of only two players – the other being Gareth McAuley – to have started all 10 games in this successful Euro 2016 qualifying campaign: “It’s something I’m personally very proud of. I’ve been available for every game and, for the manager to pick me each time, I must be doing something right.

“He’s stuck by me, there’s a trust and faith in me which is fantastic. I can’t speak highly enough of him. I’ve played my fair share and I can enjoy the moment.”

There’s no sense of Norwood being an outsider, far from it, as he points out: “The togetherness in the squad and the camaraderie is important, we keep in touch all the time when we’re away from each other.

“There’s great team spirit and banter between us, everybody buys into what Michael [O'Neill] wants to do and we’re going to get the chance to play in a major tournament. That’s what you dream of as young boy, watching those major tournaments on the TV. That’s something we’re going to be a part of now.”

Norwood points to the first match, the comeback victory in Budapest, as the moment that made him and his colleagues believe something positive could be earned in this campaign: “Look back at Hungary, 1-0 down with 15, 16 minutes to play... We came back and won 2-1. That made us realise in that dressing room that night we could achieve something.

“Hungary were one of the favourites for the top two spots, so to go to their own backyard and beat them 2-1 was brilliant.

“Then, three wins on the bounce [following Hungary by beating the Faroes and Greece] was fantastic. Michael spoke about getting momentum at the start and we managed to do that.”