No one expected us to beat Manchester City at Etihad Stadium, but it still pisses me off when we lose. There is no one in the club that likes to lose, and it does not matter whether it is City, United, Barca or Dagenham & Redbrigde. We worked hard, but sometimes we meet a team that is simply better than us, so for our own sake we have to focus forward and do everything we can to take the necessary points.

Now I’m with the national team and we are in Belfast. It’s always good fun to go with the national team, but this time it is something extra. Because we will play on the same pitch that I got my debut for the national team in. I remember I had a really good game and was so proud after the game. And as a little quiz we can see if there are someone who remember the result in that game and who scored the goals?

This time we have Valon Berisha with us, and he is a very nice young man who has good skills on the pitch. I hope he does just as good against Northern Ireland as I did when I was new to the national team. The story is a little different for the two of us since he already got some games for the national team on the trip to Thailand in January. But still, this is his first trip with our best squad. But it is going to be fun to see if he gets a chance, and it would been fun if he takes it.

Morten Gamst Pedersen