Lavery confident NI can shine despite loss of key players

Northern Ireland striker Shayne Lavery believes the squad has "a lot of potential" despite the loss of some experienced players in recent years.

Jonny Evans last week became the latest Northern Ireland stalwart to retire from international football, following Steven Davis and Craig Cathcart, while Stuart Dallas ended his career because of injury.

While Lavery admits Evans in particular will be hard to replace, he thinks there is enough talent in the squad to help them get their Nations League campaign off to a good start with victories against Luxembourg and Bulgaria over the next week.

"You look at Trai Hume, Conor Bradley and Daniel Ballard they all have a lot of caps themselves, so I think it is very exciting and this squad has a lot of potential," he told BBC Sport NI.

"Obviously, it is a young squad and Jonny retiring last week is going to be a big miss, but these are good games to gel as a team and hopefully we can get two wins."

Former Linfield forward Lavery joined League One side Cambridge United this summer after an injury-plagued three years with Blackpool.

He has netted two goals in four league games and is hoping to take his club form on to the international stage if he gets the chance to feature in the double-header.

"I'm loving it so far," added the 25-year-old. "The lads have been great with me, it's a really nice place to live and I'm enjoying my football so hopefully it continues.

"I did a lot of work over the summer to make sure I was in the best condition for the season and I'm feeling good in myself and sharp on the pitch.

"I've played a few 90 minutes for Cambridge this season so I'm hoping to get a sniff in these two games and take my chance."

Northern Ireland host Luxembourg on Thursday (19:45 BST) before facing Bulgaria in Plovdiv on Sunday (17:00).