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Having netted twice in the last two Northern Ireland matches, Grant McCann admits that although six points from this double header is the minimum needed to keep Northern Ireland in contention, he is not letting the anxiety ahead of the global stage get to him.

“Obviously it is going to be a tough game but I don’t think there’s any pressure,” the Scunthorpe United midfielder said. “I think we’re all looking forward to it as it’s one that we’re looking to win and a result will put us in good stead for the Slovenia match on Wednesday.”

McCann is now topping the team’s goalscoring table with his last two goals and he believes that he is in one of the strongest positions to propel Northern Ireland to victory.  “It’s a bit surprising that it’s not David Healy in that spot but it has been nice to score in the last two games for me.  However, it’s not about who scores the goals or where they come from, it’s about points and our position in the group. If somebody else scores in the team it wouldn’t bother me, or David for that matter, it’s about a team effort and getting a result for the side.”

McCann has totalled eight goals this season for Scunthorpe and he could pose an unprecedented threat as a dead ball specialist on Saturday night.  “I would like a few more but I am happy with the way it’s going,” the success-hungry player added.  “I think I’ve scored five this season from free kicks and it has been something we’ve looked into during training for me, although with the current high winds it can be a bit hard to practice them.

“Sammy Clingan also scored one at the weekend for Norwich, so he could be useful, too.  I wouldn’t say I have a particular style, you look at how Beckham and Ronaldo do them and that’s what you aspire to but I wouldn’t necessarily compare myself to them!”

Would McCann take a penalty for Northern Ireland?  “Once I’d wrestled that honour away from David I would definitely go up! I think the best form of defence is attack for us. Our defence is very strong, because if you see George McCartney go out you see Jonny Evans come in so that’s really good for us. Maybe we’re not as strong as we’d like for this game but we’ll still give it everything we have.”

Polandhave forged a decent reputation as a technically and physically competent team over the years and have already beaten Northern Ireland before, during a World Cup qualifier in September 2004, by three goals to nil.

“We saw a clip of them the other night when they played the Republic of Ireland recently and they scored an early goal,” McCann continued. “They looked as if they were hard to break down but we’re quietly confident. If we win these two games we could go top of the group which is what we’re looking to do.

“I am looking forward to an evening kick-off too as that’s always something to get excited about, especially at Windsor. Windsor is a very special place for me having grown up supporting Linfield and it’s a dream come true getting back for Northern Ireland. I maybe wasn’t as match sharp as I could have been when I was left out of the side on occasion. I was physically fit but not match fit and there is a big difference.”

McCann will have a particularly frenetic few days ahead, since as soon as these internationals are over, he is planning to be the architect of a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy victory over York City at Wembley on Sunday 5 April. 

“I’ve never been to Wembley so it is a great experience for me and it will be great to see all the Scunthorpe fans there. We’re probably the favourites to win over a non league side but we’ve all seen Northern Ireland considered the underdogs against some of the world’s bigger teams so we know nothing can be taken for granted in football!”