Aaron Hughes
Image by: Paul Hazlewood
PUBLISHED
17:50 14th October 2014
by James Hilsum
It has gone in the blink of an eye and it’s an honour to be there."
Aaron Hughes
Aaron Hughes
Brighton & Hove Albion defender Aaron Hughes is closing in on second place in the all-time appearance list for Northern Ireland, after winning his 92nd cap against the Faroe Islands on Saturday.
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Hughes is now just three appearances behind the country’s record goalscorer David Healy and 27 appearances behind legendary goalkeeper Pat Jennings, but he insists that his primary focus is ensuring that his home nation qualify for their first major tournament since 1986.
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He told seagulls.co.uk, “I may have a chance of catching David, but Pat might be a different story as I may have to play until 40!
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“As a kid I always dreamed of playing for Northern Ireland and all of sudden, I’m third in the list.
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“It has gone in the blink of an eye and it’s an honour to be there. The closer it gets the more I think about, but it was never the priority, the priority was qualification.
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“We’ve shown in the first two games that the mentality and performances are there. We just have to keep it going.
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“The last team that people remember was the one that reached the World Cup in 1986, so it would be nice to be a part of a team that people remember.”
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The centre back has also been joined in the squad by fellow Albion team-mate Paddy McCourt, who came on after 67 minutes in the 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands.
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“Paddy brings that flair and quality and we all know what he can do. It was a bit difficult for Paddy when he came on as the game was a bit flat. We were just looking for something to happen, but nothing was really happening for anyone.
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“It was just a matter of seeing the game out, but I see Paddy day-to-day at Brighton and you see his quality in every single training session and we know what he can do.”
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Hughes and McCourt will be looking for more game time tonight when Northern Ireland face Greece in Piraeus, 7:45pm kick-off. [h=3]ALBION V MIDDLESBROUGH
[/h] SATURDAY 18TH OCTOber, KICK-OFF 3PM
[h=3]ALBION V ROTHERHAM
[/h] SATURDAY 25th OCTOBER, KICK-OFF 3PM
[h=3]Albion v WIGAN
[/h] tuESDAY 4TH NOVEMber, kick-off 7:45pm
Original article