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"We can take a lot out of this performance. We used six substitutes and it was a chance to assess a number of players," he said.

"Perhaps the scoreline could have been more emphatic but I will take the win. It was important to break up on something of a high, I'll not see the players now until, most likely, August at the earliest but thankfully that time will pretty much fly in."

And he had a special word for scoring hero Ivan Sproule who marked his full debut with the only goal after just 77 seconds.

"The fans love someone like Ivan. They love quick wingers and unpredictable players and Ivan is one of those. He took his goal well and deserves a lot of credit.

"I'm sure he will be entertaining the fans for years to come."

Estonia manager Jelle Goes was very gracious in defeat, admitting his players got from the game exactly what their efforts merited.

"Northern Ireland put a lot of pressure on the defence early on and a lot of my players are still in their pre-season.

"But that is not excuse for losing this match. We didn't do what we practised in training so Northern Ireland deserved to win."