McIlroy announces NI squad for Cyprus friendly

Sammy McIlroy has announced his 20-man Northern Ireland squad for next week's friendly against Cyprus at Windsor Park.

The match, which takes place on Wednesday August 21, is the last chance McIlroy will have to assess his players before their opening qualifying match of the European Championship qualifiers against Spain in October.

Leicester central defender Gerry Taggart is back in the squad after a lengthy injury, however Newcastle's Aaron Hughes is not included.

McIlroy has also recalled James Quinn to the 20-man squad. The striker, who is seen by many as an ideal replacement for the now retired Iain Dowie, is now playing for Dutch side Willem II after a dismal couple of years at West Browmich Albion.

Quinn, who signed on a three-year deal for his new club, is set to partner David Healy up front.

However, Healy's place could be under threat from Paul McVeigh who scored two goals on Saturday for Norwich.

Missing from the squad is Wimbledon winger Michael Hughes whose wife is expecting a baby.

However, the worry for McIlroy is how many players will withdraw from the squad after this weekend's domestic English fixtures. This problem has dogged the NI manager ever since he took over and resulted in around a dozen players withdrawing from the squad before the match against Spain in April when the side was thrashed 5-0.

The Northern Ireland squad is named as: Maik Taylor, Roy Carroll; Danny Griffin; George McCartney; Mark Williams; Colin Murdock; Gerry Taggart; Peter Kennedy; Michael Duff; Damien Johnson; Keith Gillespie; Neil Lennon; Stephen Lomas; Philip Mulryne; Kevin Horlock; Paul McVeigh; David Healy; Stuart Elliott; Warren Feeney; James Quinn.

(MB)