NI team will 'have bumps along the road' - O'Neill

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill is confident his side can deal with growing expectations. The team will conclude their first international window back in the second tier of the Uefa Nations League against Georgia at Windsor Park on Monday night having already taken seven points from the first three games. Friday night's 3-0 victory over Ukraine in Slovakia kept them top of Group B2 at the halfway point, raising hopes of not just playing in League A for the first time, but also securing their place among the second pot of seeds for the Euro 2028 qualifying draw to be held in Belfast on 6 December. That the average age of the starting XI who won so convincingly in Trnava was just 22-years-old only adds to the growing belief around a team currently playing without two established Premier League talents in Conor Bradley and Daniel Ballard. "It's good for the team to have expectations, the worst thing is to have no expectation," said O'Neill. "The team will handle that well. "They're going to have bumps along the road, we know that, but if we get to our end goal, whatever that may be, it will be worth it." When O'Neill moved Tottenham Hotspur 21-year-old Jamie Donley from number 10 into a central striker role last year, it appeared that a favoured starting XI had emerged some two years into the manager's second stint in charge. Injuries that ruled the likes of goalkeeper Pierce Charles and wing-back Bradley out of multiple windows have ensured that version of the side is still to take the field together. In the time since, competition for places has increased, most especially in the centre and right-side of defence. Such was the surplus in those areas, even in the absence of Ballard and Bradley, that Sunderland full-back Trai Hume captained the side from central midfield against Ukraine. "I don't look at it as if they're playing out of position, I look at it as them being given an opportunity to play a position that will help me and help the team," said O'Neill. "Terry Devlin did a great job on the left-hand side which is a position where we don't have a lot of options, so that was brilliant he could give us that. "For me Jamie Donley has had his best games for us as a nine, so while other people may not see him as that, I do, which is the most important thing." Defenders Brodie Spencer and Tom Atcheson sat out Sunday's training session before Georgia, although O'Neill said it was "precautionary" in both cases. Ethan Galbraith and Callum Marshall are both available to face the side who replaced manager Willy Sagnol with under-21 boss Ramaz Svanadze after a 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture on 25 September. "In the middle of a window if you're going to make a change, the natural thing would be to promote someone from within the association," added O'Neill. "He's probably had a number of those players at under-21 level so he knows the players extremely well. "We've studied both subsequent games and how the team has been set out, the changes that have been made, and I think we're well prepared for what style of play or tactics Georgia will use." Highlights: Brilliant Northern Ireland beat Ukraine 'Different' Morrison gives NI new option Who has 'no ceiling' as Northern Ireland shine in Nations League?