Trai Hume was delighted to kick-off the Nations League campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Luxembourg in his first match as captain of Northern Ireland.
The armband didn’t look heavy on the Sunderland star as he delivered another fine performance at international level playing in three positions over the 90 minutes – left wing back, right wing back and central defence.
Hume said: “I thought it was a good performance. We created a lot of chances as a team and managed the game. We probably could have done better at times and scored more but the most important thing was coming away with three points.”
First half goals from Paddy McNair and Daniel Ballard came from set pieces which had been worked on by manager Michael O’Neill and his staff in the build-up to the Windsor Park encounter.
“All the set pieces are worked on,” said Hume.
“We worked on Thursday morning on them and the second goal was one of them. Doing it on the training ground and then scoring in the match was great.
“Over the last few games we have become dangerous at set pieces, especially big Dan. We need to keep that up and continue to be a threat.”
Asked about his emotions leading the national team out for the first time, the former Linfield defender said: “I was just normal. I tried to stay composed and calm. I didn’t change my mindset. I wanted to put on a good performance, focus on my game and help my team-mates out and I thought I was able to do that and we came away with three points in a very comfortable performance.”
So, did he say anything to the team beforehand?
“Not really. I didn’t really need to,” explained Hume.
“Michael did all the talking and motivating before the game. I let Michael do that. I didn’t have to do much.”
On playing in three positions, he added: “I started the game at left wing back and then went to right wing back and ended at right centre back. I’m happy enough to play anywhere for the team and do my job the best I can.”
Next up is Sunday’s Nations League game in Bulgaria, with Hume saying: “It will be a tough game but, as a team, we are looking forward to it and excited about it.”