Kenny Shiels is hoping to spread some happiness at this summer's Euro finals. The major tournament gets under way next month with Northern Ireland kicking off their campaign against Norway on July 7.
They have been included in a group that also includes hosts England and Austria, two sides Northern Ireland faced in the World Cup qualifiers. Shiels believes the winners of this year's Euros could come from the group.
The Northern Ireland boss hopes his players can enjoy the occasion at next month's Euros. And he believes his squad and fans have earned their moment in the spotlight following a difficult couple of years due to Covid and the escalating cost of living.
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Shiels said: "I would say any of the three in our group has a chance of winning it. In the last tournament Austria were beaten on penalties in the semi-finals.
"Every player that they have are either playing in the Bundesliga and one plays for Arsenal. I am not versed on who is going to win it, I just want to do as well for my country as I can.
"So the players can gain some experience and happiness. We have been deprived of happy things in our lives this past couple of years, with the pandemic and stuff.
"And then we had the fuel rise and the cost of living. I just want people to be happy and I am in a position to influence that."
Northern Ireland go into the Euros as massive underdogs. The Irish FA has also only been able to arrange one friendly ahead of the tournament.
They take on Belgium on Thursday evening (7pm kick-off) in what will be their only warm-up game before the finals. Shiels hopes it doesn't leave too much ring rust heading into their opening game against Norway on July 7.
"We are trying to sustain professionalism as much as we possibly can. We would love to have had three practice games, three friendlies," he said.
"That's been the real disappointment, because you need to be conditioned to play teams like Belgium, Austria, Norway and England. We could have done with a bit more, especially playing against a team like Belgium.
"But we will try and get a performance that will condition them for the Euros. That's the aim."
He added: "I don't know the reasons but it would have been great to play Wales, Republic of Ireland and Scotland for example. Because they were all available, they hadn't qualified, it gave us the opportunity to get three really tough local games but we couldn't get any of them.
"From when we played Austria and England - that's the only two games we've had since November. That's a long haul to only play two games and some of them didn't play in them.
"Progress has been stuttered. It's two steps forward, one back.
"You're going to get these little issues and little problems as you go along. It's how we cope with them and how we present ourselves on the pitch and I think we're going to give everything we have."
Despite the setbacks in terms of preparation, Shiels has hailed the 'family' ethos of his squad. And he believes that can carry them far at the Euros.
"The greatest barometer for good feeling is the happiness you see and feel. And the girls are really happy right now," he added.
"Everything we do, we do it for each other. And we are a family.
"We are a family within a sport. And it's not too often you get that within sport.
"Not everyone gets the same connection and you can see it in our squad, how great they are and how helpful they are to me and how much they want to do well for their country."
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