Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill and ex-Leeds United and Northern Ireland midfielder Stuart Dallas speak ahead of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship draw at Titanic Museum in Belfast.
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00:00 The competition qualifies, so congratulations to all the coaches for the job they've done to get here.
00:05 I think it's nice that it's not just the powerhouses of Europe that are here and I know that underage
00:11 football is particularly well supported here in Northern Ireland. We've seen that with youth
00:16 tournaments in the past and you know I think the responsibility lies with everyone in Northern
00:21 Ireland to make this as positive an experience as possible. Obviously our senior team now has got a
00:25 lot of youngsters who've come through the under-19s and you'll be looking at the next crop coming
00:29 through as well. Oh totally, I mean I always think that a country of our size, under-19s,
00:36 our better players under 19 tend to fast track through under 21. We've seen that recently with
00:42 two of last season's squad at the under-19 now playing senior international football. So yeah,
00:47 I think that we see some of the top young players in Europe, our players will get the opportunity
00:51 to test themselves against those players and I think we're going to see some you know stars
00:56 in the future definitely on come July. Stuart Feevitty, a couple of weeks for you announcing
01:01 your retirement. Congratulations on a wonderful career. Whenever it comes to this tournament,
01:06 for the young players who are going to be playing, what are your recommendations going to be going
01:09 through that line? I think first and foremost excitement. You know it's a fantastic opportunity
01:15 for the players, particularly our lads you know here on home soil. So I think they'll be excited,
01:21 they'll be nervous at the same time but I think this, as I said, this is a fantastic opportunity
01:26 for them to play against Europe's best and see where they are and I'm sure they have a manager
01:31 in Dink Gareth that has played in the major tournament before and to be able to give some
01:36 valuable experience to the boys but you know they'll be really excited for it. And as for you,
01:41 what's next? I will have to see, I'll keep the diary clear, I'll come over for sure in July and
01:47 watch the games. I would say I'll have to have conversations with certain people as to what,
01:52 you know, where I go next but I'm excited for the future and I'm delighted to be here today.
01:57 And Michael, in terms of the teams coming here and the managers, what would you say to them?
02:00 Well they'll all come with a competitive edge, they'll all come determined to do as well as
02:06 they possibly can. I think that the tournament has the possibility of maybe throwing up a surprise
02:13 winner as well. I think like any tournament, preparation is everything so I know these guys
02:18 here will do everything possible and they've already looked at everything during the venue
02:22 so they'll tell all the things that you try and correct as an international manager but
02:26 the most important thing is to have your players ready and as Stuart says,
02:29 you know, enjoyment is a huge part of it and the experience alone and hopefully
02:33 you have a great experience here at Northern Ireland. I think it's now time for the draw.