Michael O’Neill expects his midfield warrior Shea Charles to be more game ready in the Nations League battles with Belarus and Bulgaria.
The Northern Ireland squad are training at Stockport County’s training ground at Carrington in Greater Manchester ahead of the double-header.
The squad are due to jet out to Hungary on Thursday to prepare for the game against Belarus at the neutral ZTE Arena in Zalaegerszeg on Saturday.
Northern Ireland began their fourth Nations League campaign last month with a 2-0 victory against Luxembourg in Belfast before losing 1-0 in Bulgaria.
Former Manchester City youngster Charles should have a bounce in his step after scoring his first senior goal for Sheffield Wednesday with an injury-time winner in the EFL Championship clash at Coventry City.
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The 20-year-old, who is on a season-long loan at Hillsborough from Southampton, scored in the third minute of injury time to seal a 2-1 victory for the Owls.
“It is important for Shea to be playing games,” said O’Neill. “He was probably a bit undercooked for us in September because he hadn’t played any minutes with Southampton or been in the match day squads.
“So we asked a lot of him in the two games but I think he handled that well. I expect him to be a little bit more game ready in these games than he was last month.
“The Championship is demanding. The League is Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Wednesday. You have to churn out a lot of games, but that’s what Shea needs.
“I don’t think there is any question Shea can play at, or what his talent is. But what he does need is games under his belt, and that churn of games which the Championship offers him. I think we will see him flourish.”
Other than Conor Bradley whose rise at Liverpool has been remarkable, O’Neill’s squad is lacking Premier League experience.
“All of these young players have either been at a Premier League club at one time, or they are still affiliated to Premier League clubs. So the bar for them is to play in the Premier League,” added the former Northern Ireland midfielder.
“We would love to have more players in the Premier League. Conor Bradley is the only player who is in a Premier League match day squad at this moment in time.
“Conor’s minutes have been limited in recent weeks. I watched him against West Ham in the cup and he played very well.
“But when you’re at a club like Liverpool, unfortunately a good performance in the Cup doesn’t mean you play in the League.”