Conor McLaughlin: Northern Ireland defender bullish for Norway game
- Published
Conor McLaughlin moves forward for Northern Ireland against Austria
Conor McLaughlin says Norway will face a much different Northern Ireland side than the one they hammered 5-1 in Belfast last month.
The sides meet in the return Nations Cup game in Oslo on Wednesday.
"It's different circumstances - the defeat came at a time when leagues hadn't started and everyone was getting up to speed," said the defender.
"Now the lads have had a lot of games so hopefully we'll be up to speed and put in good performances."
The 29-year-old Sunderland player made his first international start in almost two years in Sunday's 1-0 defeat by Austria in front of 600 fans at Windsor Park.
It came three days after Northern Ireland's dramatic penalty shootout victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina to set up a Euro 2020 play-off decider with Slovakia next month.
"I was happy to be playing against Austria but disappointed we didn't show what we're capable of and hopefully we can put that right in Norway," McLaughlin told BBC Radio Ulster's Sportsound Extra Time.
"It was brilliant to play in front of fans again - football is nothing without the fans.
"It gives you a lift, especially during the game, and the 600 in Windsor sounded like double that figure. Hopefully the numbers increase over the next few months."
Click here to hear the full interview with Conor McLaughlin on Sportsound Extra Time.