RECOGNITION is never easy to come by for Northern Ireland’s players, even though getting into the team is increasingly difficult due to improved results.
Yet Jamie Ward still didn’t expect the problems he had getting into Windsor Park last month ahead of the Germany game.
The scorer of a great opening goal in the World Cup qualifier against Norway in Belfast back in March before injuries ruled him out of the second half of the Group C campaign, the Nottingham Forest forward typically saw the funny side of his embarrassing experience:
Asked about the importance of coming over to meet the rest of the squad for the visit of the World Cup holders, he quipped: “Yeah, well I’d missed Josh [Magennis]. Someone has to.
“No, it was nice to see the lads – I’d a bit of a problem getting through security at the ground, which I’m sure if you ask the lads about it they’d tell you, because their coach came right past me at the time, so... Yeah, it was a bit frustrating.”
And why couldn’t he get in? “Didn’t know this, did they?”, he said, waving at his face.
Didn’t he say: ‘Do you not know who I am?!’ ?
“No, I didn’t drop that line, but as soon as the bus came past where I was I just knew the lads were going to see. I tried hiding and everything but that didn’t work out, they’d already seen me.”
Pictures of the 31-year-old adorn the stadium, he acknowledged, before adding drily: “Yeah, but I’m guessing some of the security staff don’t watch football. It’s all right. They were doing their job, weren’t they? Making sure the ground was safe.”
Northern Ireland, and Ward, have much more to smile about in recent years, though, with hopes of reaching a second consecutive international tournament for the first time ever through the forthcoming World Cup play-off against Switzerland.
He can bat back banter from club-mates now, as he revealed: “They can’t give me a bit of stick, I’ve played in the Euros, haven’t I? Every time they give it ‘It’s only Northern Ireland’ I bring up the Euro caps and the games there and some people just settle down.
“We’ve one lad who has just been called up to Scotland for the first time and he’s tried to tell me he’s in the ‘international gang’ now. I told him he has to score first before you get to the international gang – and then you can come and talk to me.
“Football’s a strange world, you get on with it. Now that things are going well, we seem to get a bit more recognition as well, you get a little bit more respect, which is the main thing. It’s a bonus. Just not from security staff and stewards.”
On a more serious note, Ward concurred with the views international colleague Ollie Norwood expressed last month, when he complained that Northern Ireland and their players still don’t get the credit they merit for their recent achievements.
Indeed Ward suggested that it’s strange some Premier League managers seem prepared to buy Irish players – just not those who represent the northern side.
“Yeah, I agree with what Ollie says. I think people see it as ‘It’s Northern Ireland and they’ve not done well for a long time’, but on the other side they’ll go and buy players from the Republic squad.
“Premier League clubs are happy to do that. We’re just as good as them, but it’s obviously someone taking a risk or a chance on us and letting us prove we’re worth playing at the next level.
“But that’s football for you – managers have opinions and they do what’s fit for them.
“It’s life and we’ve just got to get on with it. If people don’t want to respect us and what we’re doing, it’s tough luck.”
That desire to keep critics quiet drives Ward on, he admits: “Yeah, every game you go into you want to prove people wrong because there’s always someone that’s doubted you. I think we’ve proved a lot of people wrong already.
“Hopefully we can take it to the next stage and get to another major tournament.”
Having only recently returned to the Forest side, Ward isn’t expected to start against the Swiss tomorrow night. Indeed, the irony of being a ‘team player’ is that, strangely, he doesn’t want the side to be changed to accommodate him – at least not straightaway:
“Physically I feel well, obviously lacking a bit of match-time, which is a bit frustrating for myself, but I can’t complain.
“Club football has been going well, I have no reason to be back in the [NI] team until they start doing badly, which I don’t want to see… I’m feeling good now and hopefully I’ll get some game-time and prove that I should be back in the team…
“It’s been frustrating watching, because you always like to be involved but it’s been great to see a few wins.
“The last two games not so great to watch because we lost. Hopefully we can change things and get back to winning ways on Thursday and Sunday.”
Hopefully Northern Ireland won’t find getting through as tricky as Ward did last month…
