We are working together and working hard

While the Windsor Park success over the Faroe Islands was not unexpected, the victory over Greece at the stadium where Roy had spent three years with Olympiacos was the one that grabbed the headlines and has fans dreaming of qualifying for the finals in 2016.

“We won two games of the double header with clean sheets and for me personally it has been great,” he admitted. “I had a few nerves before the Greece game like I always do but we settled down well and it was great to get the three points and sit at the top of the group. It was a very good night. I had three very good years in Greece and it was nice going back and seeing the lads. I had a lot of good friends out there and the football was fantastic. A great three points and a great clean sheet from the players. People watching on TV don’t realise how hot it was out there and the players concentrated and it is all clicking. We are working together and working hard.” Northern Ireland’s qualifying campaign for the World Cup in Brazil was disappointing as they finished fifth in a six team group, just one point ahead of Luxembourg. This time around it is a very different story. “We knew we had to do something this campaign,” said Roy. “The last campaign we started off pretty badly and although we had some decent performances we didn’t get the results. This time around we went 1—0 down in Budapest and everyone except the players must have thought here we go again but we know we have the talent and players to get results, and we showed the team spirit we had. I think after coming back and getting two goals in the last ten minutes away from home that belief carried on for the next two games and everyone is on a high. We have four goals in our two away games. Its fantastic. The other pleasing thing is we have only let one goal in in three games. It shows how well the players are working together. Out in Greece I didn’t have that much to do. I think I only had one save to make, and it was the same in Budapest so they have been good all round performance.” In between those two games was sandwiched a victory over the Faroe Islands, where Roy made a vital penalty save as the minnows threatened to claw their way back from 2-0 down. “I have been practicing at Notts County and luckily enough I pushed it onto the post,” he said. “The players had done so well in the first thirty minutes of that game and we lost concentration for one second and gave them a chance to get back into the game just before half time, so it was great for me to save the penalty for the players.” The perfect start to the campaign has raised expectations of Northern Ireland reaching their first major finals since the 1986 World Cup, and although many pundits have expressed doubts that they can maintain their recent run of results Roy has total faith in the team. “It’s good to have people like that because you want to prove them wrong,” he said. “We know what some people are thinking but we will just go out on the pitch and do what we can. Michael and the coaching staff prepare us all week and in football you are always going to have people saying we are just lucky at the moment, but in the three games I think we have played really well. In football you don’t know what is around the corner but we are going in the right direction.” Roy’s success on the international scene is being replicated at club level. Having signed a one year deal with Notts County in League One, the club has moved up into the play off places and Roy is targeting a shot at promotion this season. “It was great when Notts County came back in for me and I was able to get back into English football,” he said. “It’s been going well. It’s the same as Northern Ireland in that we have some experienced players and some young players and I’m coaching the young lads in front of me. For three or four games the back four were all 21 and I was like the granddad, but when you have young players in there it gives you a new lease of life and makes you feel like an 18 or 19 year old again. After last season I think everyone would be happy with mid table because last season came down to the last day, but for myself I would love to get to the play offs. Everything is good at the moment and I’m happy with how things are going at club level.” Although Roy’s contract is up at the end of the year, he has no intention of hanging up his gloves just yet. “I’m getting on a bit. I’m 37 now but I’m feeling good and I’m playing well and enjoying myself so hopefully I will continue as long as I can,” he said. “I know players who retired and wished they were still playing, so for me I will continue as long as I can, hopefully until I’m 40 or 41.” Before signing for County Roy returned to his old club Ballinamallard for preseason training, and he has been keeping an eye on the Mallard’s recent upturn in fortune. “I hadn’t been there for 12 years or so and I went back to play in that friendly against Dungannon in the Gary Bownes game, and it’s a big, big difference since I was there in 1995 as a 16 year old,” he recalled. “I saw they have kept three clean sheets which is brilliant. I’m glad for Whitey. He let me come down and train with them and he is a decent bloke. They are playing Cliftonville on Saturday and it will be tough but Northern Ireland went to Greece and no one expected us to get anything. Anything can happen in football and as long as you believe.”