Confident Nigel Worthington and his brave World Cup qualifying warriors touched down in baking hot Bratislava yesterday and declared: “We’re ready for the heat of battle.”

Temperatures in the Slovakian capital soared to tropical levels of 29 degrees as the Northern Ireland party quickly tried to acclimatize ahead of Saturday’s crucial World Cup qualifier.

And it’s expected to get even hotter — on the day of the match the players will be performing in conditions close to 34 degrees.

Boss Worthington has quickly dismissed any notion that the heat could play a factor in the result and insists his players are more than capable of producing a solid display in the heat.

“It is scorching at the moment but the heat is not a worry,” insists Worthington.

“We have trained in the heat and it is something we have to deal with. If it continues like this, we will have trained in warm temperatures for a few days so we will get on with the job in hand.

“We have come to Slovakia to win. It’s important not to lose and get some points in our first game but we’ll not be rash.

“Defeat is the last thing we want but that doesn’t mean we will not be going out on Saturday night with only a win on our minds.”

Worthington lost the services of Rangers hitman Kyle Lafferty on Tuesday night but has admitted that the rest of the team has travelled and trained in Bratislava.

Worthington adds: “Other than a few little knocks here and there, everyone is fit and raring to go.

“Keith Gillespie has had two or three days training under his belt at Sheffield United and he has worked very hard since meeting up with the squad in London on Tuesday.

“I have said I had the team in my mind but Kyle’s back injury has caused a little re-think.

“It is something we will have to have a look at in the next day or two but at this moment we are quite clear in our minds as to what way we want to line up.

“The away situation is something we continue to look at but the idea is to be positive.”