Davis impressed by team spirit

The province are aiming for their fifth successive victory in World Cup qualifiers on Saturday when they face Poland in Chorzow. They could go top of Group 3 in the process should Slovakia lose to the Czech Republic.

Given Northern Ireland took only one point from their first three games, it is a remarkable turnaround, and Davis said: "He (coach Nigel Worthington) just carried on the belief and told us we were doing the right things, told us to play in the right way and close people down."

He added: "We've managed to do that and put ourselves in a better position from where we started. Hopefully we'll continue that and the belief and confidence from previous games will carry through.

"This group's been together largely for the last couple of years so everybody knows each other and gets on well, there's good camaraderie.

"That's probably one of the best things about the group itself. They all work for each other and work for the manager."

Davis is pushing for a return to the side after finding himself on the bench in the recent 1-1 draw in a warm-up game against Israel in Belfast.

However he could force Worthington into a rethink as his early season form is winning plaudits at Ibrox.

Davis ran the show from a central midfield role in the victory against Hamilton at the weekend and earned lavish praise from the backroom team for his unselfish work.

Assistant manager Ally McCoist said: "There might be a bit of truth in the fact he misses out on recognition. But we certainly appreciate him as coaches. He maybe goes unnoticed but as a staff we are very pleased with him."