Northern Ireland v Norway

Words Mark McIntosh The Sun

‘WE WANT TO DO WELL FOR EACH OTHER’ It’s fair to say a lot has changed for Stuart Dallas since the last time he proudly wore a Northern Ireland shirt.

“I knew what the club meant to the fans, or at least I thought I did; the reaction after we won promotion was unbelievable and it shows what a massive club Leeds are.” Dallas has undoubtedly had a hectic schedule in recent months, however he did manage to get a break in Ibiza with family and friends. “Being out there with the people who have sacrificed the most for me to be where I am now was special and I’m really glad we had the time to do it,” he explained. Even though the versatile midfielder/wing back was fully focused on helping Marcelo Bielsa’s men achieve their dream, he couldn’t wait until the day he could pull on a Northern Ireland shirt once again. He said: “To be really honest I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea to have the international fixtures at this time of the year.

The former Crusaders star won his 44th cap against the Dutch back in the autumn before missing the final Euro 2020 qualifier in Germany through injury. Since then the world has been turned upside down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Football, like so many things in life, was put into complete lockdown for a few months in the first part of this year. But once it returned behind closed doors Dallas sealed the EFL Championship title and promotion back to the Premier League with Leeds United after 17 agonising years away from the top table of English football. He explained: “It was a crazy few weeks. Everything was crammed into a short space of time but after missing out the year before it was amazing to be a part of a Leeds squad to win promotion back to the Premier League after so long.

36

www.irishfa.com