NI enter play-offs 'with a lot of optimism' - O'Neill

On paper, Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifying group came to a close with a flat 1-0 win over Luxembourg.

But manager Michael O'Neill was looking at the bigger picture.

Despite finishing third in Group A, Northern Ireland will now have a play-off to look forward to in March as they look to reach a first World Cup since 1986.

It will be a big ask to go away from home against a top nation - names such as Italy, Poland, Ukraine or Turkey are in the mix for top seeding - but he is happy with the trajectory of his young side.

"I think at times we've been a little bit unfortunate with some of the decisions that have gone against us and also a little bit unfortunate with the players we've had unavailable to us with injury as well," O'Neill said.

"But over the piste, we've made a lot of progression, and that gives us a lot of optimism for the games in March."

In a side that was already missing key players such as the Charles brothers, Shea and Pierce, and the suspended Daniel Ballard, youth got the opportunity to shine in the final qualifier, which was a dead rubber after Friday's defeat by Slovakia.

Given they were at risk of suspension, Trai Hume and Justin Devenny were given the evening off, and the talismanic Conor Bradley was withdrawn at half-time.

Jamie Donley will get the headlines after his first international goal, but there was a strong first start for Jamie McDonnell, while Ruairi McConville was again commanding in defence and teenager Patrick Kelly made his senior debut.

"We obviously had to make a lot of changes to the team. If you look at the players we used tonight, five of the players are under 21, so I think that's really positive for us," O'Neill said.

"Luxembourg are a good team. The results in this campaign are probably a little bit harsh on them, and their performances have been good.

"They've not been beaten easily in any of the games, so we take a lot from the fact that we beat them 3–1 away and 1–0 at home. A clean sheet was a positive, and a lot of good performances as well."

While O'Neill will wish to have a full-strength side back for March's play-off, which will be against a pot one team, football is rarely that straightforward and some of those young players who took to the field against Luxembourg may be called into action once again.

Young defender McConville is the prime example. The 19-year-old had only played 190 minutes in the Championship for Norwich City this season. He matched that in one window with two composed displays.

O'Neill knows that players getting regular minutes at their clubs is key to their progression, but he's happy with the development on show.

"The only way to progress in international football is to play, it's as simple as that. You can't come on for 10 minutes and you're ready then forever," he said.

"There's a process that has to go through. The reason why Isaac Price and Shea Charles and Conor Bradley, and people like that look very seasoned international players already is because they played consistently over the last three years."

O'Neill added that "we need to get minutes into as many players as possible," but conceded that is something out of his hands.

"We only have 10 games a year and we want to try and use them as much as possible to get players minutes at international level.

"But really, their development is driven by their clubs, and that's something we're not in control of."

The next time Northern Ireland's squad will be together is in March for two games which could fulfil their World Cup destiny, and O'Neill says his players will be as ready as possible.

After a campaign with highs such as the away win in Luxembourg and the Windsor Park dismantling of Slovakia, and the lows of the one-goal defeats by Germany and the Slovakians, O'Neill's outlook is positive.

"We've kind of nailed down our preparation, and one of the things we've been very, very consistent with now for quite some time is the system of play and what we're asking players to do," he said.

"So, we're not coming in and changing dramatically what we're doing. It's a case of personnel, and sometimes we have to change personnel. But we'll be ready to play regardless of who it is, even though it'll be short preparation time."