Fulham 3 Spurs 3. I said in this column last month that we had been playing well but not getting results but it was the opposite in this match.

To be honest, we could have been four or five down when we dragged ourselves back into the game.

I doubt anyone would have given us a prayer but there is such a desire to succeed that we kept fighting and defied the odds to nick a draw.

It was tough on Spurs because they did very well but we didn't care about that.

This was a real gutsy Northern Ireland-like performance and hopefully our luck is going to turn a corner - well, here's hoping.

September 2

Lawrie Sanchez has given the international players in the squad a few days off before meeting up ahead of the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like Aaron Hughes will be able to join Chris Baird, David Healy and myself in the Northern Ireland squad for either game though as he isn't fully fit but we will keep our fingers crossed for Iceland.

I took the opportunity to head back to Birmingham with my girlfriend, Tracey.

My house is still there too and there are a few things to sort out having moved down to London but it was good to see friends I've had to leave behind.

September 4

It's Tuesday night and I've met up with the Northern Ireland boys before flying to Latvia.

We are all full of optimism before the trip after last month's victory over Liechtenstein but there is a lot of hard work to be done yet.

Sometimes getting away from your club can also give you a bit of a lift as it is a change of scenery and the Northern Ireland boys always have a bit of craic.

September 7

My head is pounding!

Training has been great and the boys are flying but unfortunately my room-mate is doing my head in.

Steve Jones fancies himself as a bit of a music buff so he brings is own sound system on away trips.

One problem that is slightly lost on 'Jonah' is that he plays the same couple of songs over and over again. What a nightmare.

September 8

Latvia 1 Northern Ireland 0.

I cannot describe how deflated both I and the rest of the squad are after this defeat.

We were confident of coming to Riga and getting three points but we just didn't perform.

In fact, we were shocking.

As well as being disappointed with my own performance, there is an overwhelming feeling we've let our fans down badly.

They pay a lot of money to follow us and what we provided on the pitch was nowhere near good enough.

To their credit, they cheered us off the pitch and kept singing even though they were as annoyed as the players and Nigel Worthington were.

I didn't think Latvia ever looked like scoring but neither did we for that matter which made the performance even worse.

It is so frustrating because everything in the build-up was spot on and we were really looking forward to this game.

It hurts now but we have to keep positive and make sure we put it out of our system.

The easy thing would be to just give up but with another match coming up in a few days we have the perfect opportunity to give the fans what they deserve and do ourselves a bit of justice.

September 11

Luckily for us, a few countries did us a favour on Saturday night and our defeat in Latvia wasn't as damaging as it could have been to our hopes of making it to Austria and Switzerland next summer.

Spain's draw in Denmark was a boost but that won't mean anything if we can't do the business in Reykjavik - and that is all why can think about.

As so often happens on away trips, we can't train on the same pitch more than once but it didn't do us any harm.

There is a real determination to make up for Saturday night and we've all had a chat about what needs to be done and it's all systems go.

A couple of years ago we would have come to Iceland hoping to get a draw but those days have gone.

We had a bit of a laugh at training when the IFA forgot to pack warm hats so we wore shower caps in protest!

September 12

Iceland 2 Northern Ireland 1. If the Latvia defeat gave us a sickener, then this one has just kicked us when we were down.

I can't believe we've walked off that pitch as losers.

I thought we played quite well and after conceding an early goal we were the better side.

Their goal could have killed us but we came straight back and went close a few times through Warren Feeney and Sammy Clingan.

At half-time we knew we were well in the game and I always thought we would score.

When Eidur Gudjohnsen came on we upped our game again and David Healy won us a penalty.

The wee man never misses and he blasted the ball home and we sensed victory.

But then, with time running out, the unthinkable happened and Keith Gillespie's unfortunate own goal meant another defeat.

Some of the Iceland players told our boys that we deserved to win but it just goes to prove that this game really can be cruel.

The dressing-room wasn't a great place to be; in Latvia we knew the defeat was solely down to us but this time it was different.

I was taken off in the second half and was so nervous watching from the bench.

At least when you're out there you can try to influence the game but I was kicking every ball from the sidelines.

Qualification is going to be even tougher now but we have to keep believing.

September 13

I've had a few hours to digest the Iceland defeat and I still haven't a clue how we didn't come away with a draw at the least.

We all know we've let a lot of people down but we have to keep playing away.

We never do things the easy way, in fact, we usually do things the wrong way around.

Two defeats in Latvia and Iceland were unexpected but it would be just like us to go to Sweden next month and get a win.

It's just the Northern Ireland way.

We won't fear them. We've beaten them once and we know we can do it again and we have to.

We've not had a better chance of qualification in years and we know that, but for the time being I have to get back to the bread and butter and look forward to a match at Wigan in the Premier League.

We flew home today from Reykjavik and it was straight to training at 3pm.

Lawrie had a few words with the Northern Ireland boys to ask about how the two games went and he was as gutted as the rest of us about the results.

He's still very proud of what we achieved together with Northern Ireland and does care deeply about how we do.

September 15

Wigan 1 Fulham 1. It was a bit of a relief to get back to league football after nine long days away.

It's hasn't been a great start to the season for Fulham and going to places like Wigan is always difficult. They are very similar to ourselves and that is why we have to keep picking up points in these games.

There really are two leagues within the Premier League and our destiny will be decided in this type of match.

I think we played well again without getting the result we deserved but there comes a time when we have to stop saying that and just deliver.

September 19

I'm living in a rented apartment at the moment because the house I bought after moving to Fulham is a new-build.

Hopefully I'll be moving into the new place in the start of November then I can feel properly settled in London.

I still don't have Sky TV so I feel I'm missing out on a lot but in my time off, Tracey and I like to get out and have dinner in Wimbledon or Kingston which are close by

To be honest, I'm just delighted to be out of hotels.

When I first moved from Villa to Fulham, I spent four weeks in a hotel and it was difficult to relax when you were stuck in one room.

September 22

Fulham 3 Manchester City 3. Another crazy game for Fulham.

The media had made a lot of Lawrie and Sven Goran Eriksson coming face-to-face again but we didn't care about that.

Although we conceded three goals I thought we did very well and the game was exciting to play in.

But we have to start winning games sooner rather than later.

We seemed to get punished for every little mistake at the moment but we must stop making the mistakes to give ourselves a better chance.

Aaron Hughes played his first game and I think we'll be a better side for his inclusion.

Northern Ireland always miss him and he brings a lot of class and composure to any team he is in.

It's been a tough few months for him but now that he is back, I'm sure he'll make up for lost time.

September 24

'Hughesy' invited me over to his house to watch the Cliftonville v Linfield match.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it but I really did want to see the game.

The IFA were just right getting that put into the deal when they signed the international contract and it will give the game back home a far bigger profile.

Sky has changed football in England forever and the clubs back home will benefit as well as the players who will now be in the shop window more often.

Aaron told me it was a great game and hopefully I will see the next one.

I've also had some time to do a little bit of charity work for Myeloma Awareness UK.

By texting Sweden to 84424 you could win a trip to the game in Sweden and I hope people will give their support. Each text costs £3 plus standard network rate.