Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill happy to select Third Division pair

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill had no qualms about selecting Rangers duo Andy Little and Dean Shiels for tonight’s friendly against Finland but will continue to monitor their situation over the course of the season.

Despite the troubled club’s demotion to the Irn-Bru Third Division, a host of international players have opted to remain at Ibrox – including Little, who agreed a new deal with Ally McCoist’s side in the summer despite their fall from grace.

Shiels, meanwhile, left Clydesdale Bank Premier League side Kilmarnock to join the Gers despite fellow Northern Ireland internationals Steven Davis and Kyle Lafferty leaving for Southampton and Sion respectively.

Whether or not life in the fourth tier of Scottish football will be enough to sustain Little and Shiels through a difficult World Cup qualifying campaign remains to be seen – and O’Neill has vowed to keep an open mind on the subject.

But for now, he is happy to have the pair involved. “Everyone asks: ‘Will the level they’re playing at prepare them to play internationals?’ Well, the reality is they’ve only played a couple of games so we’re not really able to assess that at this minute in time,” he said. “We will be able to assess that throughout the season, but certainly both players have looked very sharp. Rangers are playing at a lower level competitively but the standard they prepare at will still be the same as they did previously.”

Wales manager Chris Coleman has defended Jack Collison and James Collins after the West Ham pair withdrew from the squad to face Bosnia-Herzegovina in Llanelli tonight.

Midfielder Collison (knee) and defender Collins (groin), a recent signing from Aston Villa, on Sunday both fell out of the reckoning for the Parc-y-Scarlets clash, with Joel Lynch and Robert Earnshaw called up as their replacements. Collison, 23, has been dogged by knee problems in recent seasons while Collins, 28, has not played for his country since the Euro 2012 qualifying defeat against England in March 2011.

The pair have come in for criticism from former Wales international Mickey Thomas, but Coleman sprang to their defence when questioned on their absence.

He said: “I have seen Mickey’s comments, he is paid to give his opinion but I don’t agree.

“Jack Collison has had a serious knee problem, not for six months or 12 months, but for two or three years.”