Trai Hume will take the captain’s armband for Northern Ireland’s Nations League opener at home to Luxembourg on Thursday night as Michael O’Neill looks for a new generation of leaders to emerge.
O’Neill admitted there is no natural successor to Jonny Evans following his international retirement, and will name a skipper on a game-by-game basis throughout the Nations League campaign, holding off on appointing a permanent captain until the start of the World Cup qualifiers next year.
Sunderland full-back Hume, 22, was pulled aside at the end of Wednesday’s training session at Windsor Park and told he would be first up.
“I see how he plays for his club,” O’Neill said of Hume. “He’s a leader in a young team at Sunderland. He may not be the captain but he is a leader. He gets his chance to captain the team (on Thursday) night and I’ve no hesitation in saying he will do a good job.”
Hume spent much of his youth career at Ballymena and Linfield captaining sides at different age groups, and has been captain for Northern Ireland with both the under-18s and 19s.
He said it was a proud moment to get the honour with the senior squad, but he does not want it to change anything about his game.
“He told me after training there so he caught me a bit by surprise,” Hume said. “It’s obviously nice to hear that. I just want to take it in my stride and focus on the game.
“I know my family will be happy but I don’t want to let it affect me too much. It doesn’t really change anything for me. I’m just putting something on my arm. It’s still a game and I’ll be going out to win and to put on the best performance I can, and to help my team-mates out.”
Although Jonny Evans has retired and taken 107 caps’ worth of experience with him, O’Neill has added Corry Evans to his squad as the 34-year-old midfielder continues his search for a new club after leaving Sunderland in the summer.
And O’Neill also has the experience of both Steven Davis and Stuart Dallas around, with Davis part of his backroom staff and Dallas joining sessions this week, having asked to take part as he starts his coaching badges.
Having those former players around has helped ease the transition amid a major turnover in players in recent months. Corry Evans is one of only five players who started Northern Ireland’s last meeting with Luxembourg in March 2022 who remain in the squad.
“It hasn’t been easy,” O’Neill said of the managing that change. “You’ve got to be prepared to lose games. There’s not a huge amount of experience but I believe there is quality and over time they will gather experience and that little bit of know-how in how to win games.”
Jamal Lewis missed Wednesday’s training session as he travelled back from Brazil after sealing a loan move from Newcastle to Sao Paulo, but the 26-year-old was due in Belfast later in the day and O’Neill was optimistic he would be able to play some role in Thursday’s match.
“This is a very exciting opportunity, Sao Paulo have a lot to play for,” O’Neill said. “I have to commend him on making that decision.
“It would be very easy to sit in Newcastle and not go out, but he’s got a real appetite for it and he believes this could open up other opportunities in the world for him if it goes well, so we support him in the decision and we wish him well.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here