Some good news for Lydia and any other Northern Ireland fans. Fulham’s Aaron Hughes has told Nigel Worthington that he is happy to continue with his Northern Ireland career after the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign tonight.

Worthington’s side have come so close to reaching major finals twice recently and there had been speculation that senior members of the side were about to call time on their international careers. Hughes, who is expected to win his 70th cap for his country in Prague this evening, said it was a pretty straightforward decision for him.

It was an easy decision to make as I have an ambition to qualify for a major championships. I have a big desire to do that.

As long as I am fit and able and the manager sees me in his plans I will give it a go as long as I can. I am still enthusiastic. We have come close twice now to qualifying, so something has got to give. We have a real good squad with good experience.

Hughes would also like Worthington, whose contract is due to expire at the end of this campaign, to remain as manager.

It would be really good for us. It is all about consistency, not just having the same players but the same staff too.

We know each other now and been in each other’s company the last two years. We were halfway through a campaign when Nigel came in so it was a transitional period.

But now he has had a full campaign and there has been a lot of improvements. If we can keep the majority of the lads together and keep the management in place then we have a chance of further progress.