Bradley honoured to captain NI against Belarus

CONOR Bradley says he will be honoured to captain Northern Ireland in this evening’s (Saturday) Nations League game against Belarus in Hungary.

The Liverpool star was named captain by Michael O’Neill on Friday. Despite his tender years, Bradley has become a key figure in the Northern Ireland team and O’Neill said he had no hesitation in naming the Castlederg man as skipper.

“I think Conor has shown a lot of maturity,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people at Liverpool and got their opinion, and they felt it was something he would handle.

“One thing I’ve found working with Conor is that he is very, very grounded, very serious about his football, and we obviously see that in his level of performance.”

Bradley, whose career began at St Patrick’s Castlederg, will make his 20th appearance for Northern Ireland in a game that, because of current UEFA restrictions, is being played behind closed doors in Zalaegerszeg.

The Killen native is hoping that his team can mark the occasion with a win.

“It’s going to be a really good night, and hopefully we can cap it off with a result to make it a really special night,” said Bradley. “I’m really happy and I can’t wait.”

Following the trip to Hungary, the men in green are back in action on Tuesday evening when they take on Bulgaria in Belfast.