McAuley shrugs off McClean snub

Gareth McAuley has brushed aside James McClean's decision to snub Northern Ireland and says the team's Euro 2012 hopes will not be sidetracked by the issue.

Nigel Worthington handed the highly-rated Derry City forward a first call-up for Wednesday's Group C qualifier only for the 22-year-old to withdraw, citing a desire to represent the Republic of Ireland instead.

McClean had played for Northern Ireland at youth and U-21 level but has now declared his intention to take advantage of a FIFA ruling that allows players born in Northern Ireland to play for either national side.

It is a controversial issue, with the likes of Darron Gibson, Shane Duffy, Marc Wilson, Daniel Kearns, Paul George, Adam Barton and Dan Devine all opting for a similar path, leaving Northern Ireland's resources stretched thin.

But McAuley believes those who are committed to the Northern Ireland cause will not let McClean's decision bother them.

"To be honest, we are a group of players and we see it like this: if someone wants to play for us, great. If not, we're not interested," he said.

"That's our attitude and we're tight together. If someone has to think about playing for Northern Ireland then we aren't interested (in them).

"We wish them all the best with whatever they want to do, but I don't even think we should talking about it. If you don't want to play for us then that shouldn't be getting any press from the players' point of view."

Instead, McAuley is keen to focus on those who have arrived in Belfast for a match they must win to keep alive their hopes of reaching next summer's championships.

Josh McQuoid (hamstring) and Martin Paterson (thigh) have joined first-choice striker Kyle Lafferty (hernia) on the treatment table, with question marks also lingering over the fitness of Warren Feeney.

Worthington responded today by recalling Linfield's Peter Thompson to his squad, where he joins David Healy and the uncapped Jamie Ward as options up front.

McAuley said: "David's back in the squad, our record goalscorer, and he's looking sharp, looking fit.

"Hopefully he can score the goals. Peter has been scoring goals too and he's just come back in, so there's lots of potential there.

"We've also got a few wide players, creative players. You can't forget Pat McCourt and what he can do. If he plays he's going to be important to us in unlocking what will probably be a stubborn defence."

Northern Ireland's qualification hopes would have looked much brighter had they not been held to a disappointing 1-1 draw against the Faroes in their first encounter in Toftir last year.

McAuley accepts they have to do better this time and will be ensuring the same mistakes are not repeated at Windsor Park.

"It was a low point but if you ask Estonia about going there it's probably a low for them too," he said.

"It wasn't great though. We have to ask ourselves the questions about going out there. Did we prepare right? Did we respect them enough? All those things we are looking at and making sure they are put right. You can look for excuses but we just didn't do enough out there to break them down and beat them.

"The pressure is on to perform and get a result. We know it's a must-win, no bones about it. There are no easy games but we have enough to beat the Faroes - especially after having had a look at them out there."