Steven Davis to use Portugal display as inspiration

Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis has called on his side to hit Russia with the same type of performance that took them to the brink of victory in Portugal.

Davis and company defied the odds to claim a 1-1 draw in Porto five months ago, and were 11 minutes away from a famous win after Aberdeen striker Niall McGinn found the target.

Results since have been disappointing, with home draws against both Azerbaijan and Luxembourg, but Davis is looking for another vintage underdog display tonight.

“Of course, the going to be very difficult, but we will use our performance in Portugal as the benchmark,” said the former Rangers player.

“Giving the fans a night like that game in Portugal was a massive lift, but we won’t underestimate just how tough it is going to be against Russia.

“Like I have said, I think the performances have been good without getting a little bit of fortune along the way. What is important for us is to use everything we have to our advantage.

“When we played in Russia we didn’t see a great deal of the ball and that might be the same again, so when we do get chances we know we are going to have to be clinical.”

Michael O’Neill has yet to win a match since taking over as national manager at the start of 2012, meaning Davis is also looking for a first success since taking over as captain from Aaron Hughes at the same time.

But he is far from despondent about the way the side are shaping up. “When you take a step back and analyse our games, we are definitely progressing,” he said. “We have been disappointed not to win during the group but when you look at performance levels, they have been good.

“The one thing we have been missing is perhaps a bit of fortune. But if we keep playing in the same way with the same commitment, desire and shape, it will come.”

While most fans probably accept a return to tournament football for the first time since 1986 is going to be a huge ask for any manager, O’Neill has no problem with aiming high.

“We’ll always be a team that is more than the sum of its parts. In the period of time we have had with the players that’s what we have tried to work on,” he said.