Derry City goalkeeper Ger Doherty has been called up to the Northern Ireland squad by Michael O'Neill. Doherty will be looking to be the first League of Ireland player to play for Northern Ireland since Niall McGinn in 2008. The Derry native had previously played for the Republic of Ireland at under 18 level.
Doherty joins former Shamrock Rovers keeper Alan Mannus in the squad. Mannus believes he was frozen out of the Northern Ireland set up under previous manager Nigel Worthington when he played in the League of Ireland. The manager who brought Mannus to Tallaght was, of course, Michael O'Neill.
Along with Doherty, there are three more former Derry City players in the Northern Ireland squad; Pat McCourt (Celtic), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen) and Daniel Lafferty (Burnley). There are also 3 ex-Derry players in the Republic of Ireland squad for next week's friendly with Poland; David Forde (Millwall), James McClean (Sunderland) and Conor Sammon (Derby County). McGinn and Liam Coyle (in 1989) are the only players to win full international caps with Northern Ireland whilst playing with Derry since their entry into the League of Ireland in 1985.
