McGinn: Worthington's been terrific

Northern Ireland winger Niall McGinn has given manager Nigel Worthington a ringing endorsement after turning in a man-of-the-match performance in the 0-0 draw against the Czech Republic in Prague.

Celtic winger McGinn, putting aside his disappointment at seeing Ireland fail to make the World Cup, commented that Worthington had been 'terrific' throughout the qualifying campaign.

The opinion seems to be shared by the other Northern Irish players, boosting Worthington's chance of fulfilling his ambition to continue in the post.

McGinn also revealed that he thought he had scored when his mis-kicked shot appeared to have beaten Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech.

But the Chelsea stopper managed to get a glove to the ball and stop a certain goal.

McGinley's mazy dribbles were a constant threat to the Czech defence and he said: 'I was thankful to last 90 minutes and I thought I did reasonably well.

'We'll take confidence from tonight's game and push on from there.'