Northern Ireland

“Anytime that I have been away with Northern Ireland in recent years it has always been very positive.

“I think with how well we have done since leading on from the Euros, we were very close to making the World Cup. We are in a very tough group this time around and we have established ourselves well in the group.

“Even off the back of losing against Holland, going out to the Czech Republic and beating them and getting the win, it helps us in the rankings, and it will probably help us when March comes around with the play offs.

“We know that is going to be difficult but it is always good when you are going in and training with Premier League players, I always really enjoy it, I enjoy working under Michael (O’Neill), I enjoy working with all of the lads.

“You are always constantly learning, constantly improving and for me to be an established international amongst our group of players is special and I always really enjoy going away. It is always more enjoyable if you are winning games and you are involved with that squad of players.

Last time out

“Things didn’t go to plan in the Hibs game but in the last 25 minutes when myself and Jon Gallagher came on we made a good impact which was pleasing for us.

“You always want to do that anytime you come off the bench, if you are winning you want to see out games, if you are losing you want to come on and make an impact.

“I am glad that I came on and had an assist for big Sam who done brilliant for the header.

“It was a collective effort, with the players coming on, with the fans behind us. The last 20 odd minutes was tough going down to 10 men.

“We know that Motherwell are on form, they are playing well, and it is going to be a very difficult game.

“It is a game that we have always shown over the years that going down there we have picked up good results.

“We know it is going to be a tough game.

Injuries

“The injuries we have suffered have been key players, centre half’s, centre midfielders, down the spine of your team.

“You are missing the key players that you probably need over the course of a long old season with plenty of games.

“Hopefully the likes of these international breaks can help the boys catch up fitness wise.

“Hopefully Bryson and Gleeson are not too far away from full fitness.

“The likes of Scott McKenna having the game under his belt against Hibs, maybe not being involved with Scotland and staying here and working hard behind the scenes will come good for us at the weekend.

“With the injuries that we have, we have definitely got players in the squad who can come in and stake a claim. We just need to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible.

“It is a tough period between now and the next international break, but it is a period we have got to use.

“When the players come back from injury it will benefit the squad.

“Those who are fit and healthy at the moment, we have just got to push ourselves on and just get back to winning ways as quickly as possible.

Collective Effort

“Wherever we are winning games, or we are losing games, we always keep a level head.

“A lot of people don’t see what is going on at training, there is always a positive mood and that comes from the manager, to his assistant right down to the group of players.

“When we lose games we are as frustrated as the fans.

“We always work hard on the training ground. You can’t win every game and when things are tough it is about everyone coming together, sticking together. The injured players always show their support as well even though they can’t be involved.

“The fans have always showed their support as well.

“We need the fans as much as we need each other, it is a collective unit. We need to push together, and we need to get that bit of momentum.

“It is one of those ones, when you take a step back and look at it, it hasn’t been a great season, but we are still sitting fourth.

“It’s not a disaster, we are still sitting in a nice place in the table. It is one of those ones that you go on a run of wins you can definitely climb the table.

Motherwell Manager

“Even early doors when Stephen Robinson came in with the Northern Ireland set up, he worked under Michael, his training was very good, and I always enjoyed it.

“He leaves no stone unturned, his attention to detail is massive and even a number of years ago when Motherwell played Rangers (in the Premiership Play Off), I spoke to him about it after he just got involved and the detail he put in to beat them to stay in the league was massive.

“He does a lot of work behind the scenes on other teams and he has his teams set up very well. It is no surprise to me that he has done very well in management but hopefully they won’t be good this weekend!”

To watch the media conference in full please click on the red button.