![\"\"](\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2.41900978.jpg\")
Michael O\u2019Neill is confident Northern Ireland can end their away day blues as they continue their push to qualify for Euro 2020.<\/p>\nMichael O\u2019Neill is confident Northern Ireland can end their away day blues as they continue their push to qualify for Euro 2020.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland face Estonia on Saturday in Tallinn and Belarus in Borisov on Monday in two games which are virtually must-win before they take on Holland and Germany in Group C later in the year.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Neill\u2019s side are without a win on the road since beating San Marino in September 2017, a run of seven games.<\/p>\n
But O\u2019Neill has previously played down the importance of recent away defeats in friendlies and the Nations League, and pointed instead to better results across both the run to the Euro 2016 finals and the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike Estonia, we\u2019re a small nation and we often find it difficult away from home,\u201d said O\u2019Neill, whose side will be roared on by 1,100 travelling fans in Tallinn.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at the last two (qualifying) campaigns our away record is quite strong \u2013 we had maybe 10 points in the campaign for Euro 2016 and about seven for the World Cup, so we are much better equipped to play away from home than we have been in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know historically our away record is something different but this is a different group of players and Steven (Davis) would verify that there is a confidence when we go away from home now that we are capable of getting a result.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delivering on that potential looks like a minimum requirement for Northern Ireland as they look to force their way into the top two in the group come November.<\/p>\n
Victories over Estonia and Belarus in March give them a chance of going into their games against Holland and Germany with 12 points in the bank if they can repeat the trick this weekend, making qualification a much more realistic prospect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe if we can get similar results as we had in the first round of fixtures, we essentially go into a group of three and it\u2019s almost like a knockout scenario in the sense of a two-legged affair with the Netherlands and Germany,\u201d O\u2019Neill said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat in itself is a huge task, but it\u2019s a task we would like to meet head on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland dominated the reverse fixture against Estonia in March, even if they had to wait until the second half to make the breakthrough in a 2-0 win that came with goals from Niall McGinn and captain Davis.<\/p>\n
It’s a task we would like to meet head on.<\/p>\n
Davis did not shy away from calling these next two games \u2018must-win\u2019 for Northern Ireland, just as their March fixtures were, to keep their hopes alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe said from the outset when we looked at the group that we were going to have to take maximum points from the games we had in March \u2013 we managed to get the job done there \u2013 and now we look to these two games over the next few days to try and do the same again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not underestimating how difficult it is going to be, it is going to be a good test these two games. We\u2019re away from home, we have to take into account the heat and our club seasons ending some time ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think we are well prepared, and we can go into the two games in confident mood.\u201d<\/p>\n