George Hammers out Worthy message of hope

International

I don't want to be a Ger

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

George McCartney's well documented fall-out with former Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez is consigned to history and the West Ham left-back is proving he's committed to his country.

McCartney is now loving life on the international stage since being welcomed back with open arms by Nigel Worthington in August last year.

The former Boys' Model pupil missed some of our country's finest footballing hours - including the win over England - but he's very much focused on future glories and targeting qualification for the World Cup in 2010.

"I missed out on two years of games with Northern Ireland under Lawrie but once Nigel took over I was very pleased he gave me a call," said McCartney.

"He asked me would I want to come back and I didn't hesitate in saying yes.

"We can now go into the World Cup qualifiers with confidence and I think we can improve as a team.

"There are a lot of young lads in the squad and Nigel won't take anyone messing around - we will be prepared and focused each day. There is a lot to build on for the future."

McCartney has played every game for West Ham this season and rather than struggling to keep pace with the Premier League's sharpshooters, he has shone in the Hammers' rearguard.

"It's been a great season and I've played every game," he said. " We probably should have beaten Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday but it has been a roller-coaster season for everyone.

"We are still sitting in mid-table a few points ahead of Tottenham and we are looking at the teams above us.

"If you are playing every week in the Premier League you are going to improve as a player and you will mature as well as people say you will get better with age. The manager has brought in new signings in the summer and we have an outside chance of getting a European place which would help us attract players to the club."

McCartney insists the best is yet to come from Worthington's Northern Ireland.

A disappointing 1-0 friendly defeat to Bulgaria last month did little to inspire confidence but McCartney said: "We went so close in the European Champions qualifiers and I know some people will think we have peaked as a squad but that is nonsense.

"We have a lot of young lads in this squad who will only become better players with the experiences they already have behind them and the future is very bright.

"When you add the experience of the likes of Maik Taylor and Aaron Hughes to that I think we have a good blend. We have a very solid base to build on now.

"Losing out on making it to Euro 2008 was hard to take after going so close but you won't find any of us feeling down about it.

"We will be stronger for the experience and we'll build on it."