Faroe Islands v Northern Ireland:NIGEL WORTHINGTON has given his players a history lesson in the hope they will not be embarrassed as he once was with Northern Ireland.

Worthington played at left-back when the Faroe Islands held Northern Ireland to a draw at Windsor Park in a European Championship qualifier, a match the home side were expected to win comfortably.

Tomorrow, 19 years on, the teams meet in Toftir with Worthington anxious his side improve on their tally of four points following a victory against Slovenia and a goalless draw with Italy, and will not let them take anything for granted.

Reflecting on the drawn match in 1991, Worthington said: “I remember it was a Saturday afternoon when we don’t perform that well. It was quite warm. I was part of a team that thought maybe it was going to be easy. You cannot afford to do that. If you go into any game thinking it is going to be easy I always think you can get surprised. After a decent start that is the last thing we want. There is still a lot of football to be played. There will be a lot of tough games.

“It is not about revenge on the Faroes as far as I am concerned. It is just about being professional and doing our job properly. We want to build on our start so we go into the three-month break in a good position in the table.”

Northern Ireland have found themselves sharing the same Torshavn hotel as the home team – who have lost their opening four games in the group. They face a lengthy trip to the tiny clifftop stadium in Toftir. Worthington wants no excuses against a side managed by former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr.

Worthington explained: “Our players can’t be saying we had an hour’s journey before the game. The Faroes are doing exactly the same thing. I said to the players the mental approach has to be, no distractions. People are saying it is done and dusted. I have been in the game far too long to know that is not the case. We have a job to do. The Faroes will work hard and close you down. It is a British mentality.”

Captain Aaron Hughes expects a British-style cup tie. “We’re in an unusual predicament this time because we are the favourites, that’s not normal for us, ” said the Fulham defender. “These are the games where if you don’t perform then a nasty shock awaits. This will be similar to one of those big cup ties – where a giant takes on a minnow. We will have to play to the best of our ability to get a win.”

Kerr spoke of a light-hearted moment during the defeat by Serbia. “Our captain was quite put out when things started getting a bit hot and (Dejan) Stankovic turned to him and said: ‘You’re only a so-and-so fisherman.’ “He felt very insulted and said: ‘I’m not a fisherman, I’m a carpenter!’

“We have teachers, an accountant, a bank worker and of course a carpenter.

“It’s a case of trying to extract the best you can and not working them too hard in training, so they have something left on match day.”

The Lowdown

Faroe Islands v Northern Ireland
Today, kick-off – 4pm(Irish-time)
Svangaskard, Toftir
Live on Sky Sports 1