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Steven Davis wants only one thing from his record-breaking 126th appearance for Northern Ireland \u2013 a victory over Bulgaria.<\/p>\nSteven Davis wants only one thing from his record-breaking 126th appearance for Northern Ireland \u2013 a victory over Bulgaria.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old midfielder will move clear of Peter Shilton\u2019s British caps record in Wednesday\u2019s World Cup qualifier, but Davis said the only way to mark it properly would be with three crucial points.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to get back to winning ways and find a way to win the game,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a big landmark for me personally but my focus is on the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis has broken a series of records in recent international windows, but this one will have a different feel as it takes place behind closed doors and without his family being able to attend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in the bubble but once I get back home I can mark it with the wife and kids, which will be nice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t wait to get the fans back in and we\u2019re looking forward to getting then back. We\u2019ll just try to get a win and then in September they\u2019ll be back and we can push on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manager Ian Baraclough has not shied away from calling Wednesday\u2019s match a must-win fixture given the difficulty of Northern Ireland\u2019s task of breaking into the top two of a group that also includes Italy and Switzerland.<\/p>\n
To get the three points they need, Northern Ireland will need to end a long winless run, with Baraclough yet to enjoy victory inside 90 minutes after 10 games in charge.<\/p>\n
Though Thursday\u2019s opening qualifier ended in a 2-0 defeat to the Italians in Parma, there was major encouragement to be taken from the second-half performance.<\/p>\n
The challenge now is to replicate that against a Bulgaria side who have themselves won only one of their last 10 games \u2013 a 3-0 friendly victory over Gibraltar in November \u2013 and who lost their opening qualifier 3-1 at home to Switzerland last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll come here on the back of two defeats so they won\u2019t want to give a great deal away,\u201d Baraclough said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey shipped three goals to the Swiss very early on and were chasing the game from then on, it was an uphill task, so they\u2019ll come here looking to not give anything away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll defend and try to hit us on the counter, they\u2019ll try to hit longer balls than Italy did.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnywhere around their final third they\u2019ll be back in numbers, making us put balls into the box from deep and we\u2019ll have to be patient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baraclough reported a clean bill of health within the squad after several senior players sat out Sunday\u2019s 2-1 friendly defeat to the United States.<\/p>\n
That means Liam Boyce is the only player unavailable with the Hearts striker having remained in Scotland following the birth of his second child.<\/p>\n
With a lack of goals a major problem for Baraclough, the manager said the 29-year-old would be missed but he felt his side still carries a major threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoycey is another type of striker, he\u2019s different to the others, they\u2019ve all got their own attributes,\u201d Baraclough said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know how good a footballer Boycey is, his link-up play, so not to have that choice is tough, but I think with the six strikers we\u2019ve got \u2013 and I include Niall McGinn in that \u2013 I think we\u2019ve got a really good bearing of what we need to break the Bulgarians down.\u201d<\/p>\n