Daniel’s Euro tunnel vision

OUT TO IMPRESS: on-loan Burnley left-back Dan

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NEW Athletic left-back Daniel Lafferty says his Northern Ireland countrymen have exceeded even their own expectations by making it to the Euro 2016 finals — and he wants a part of the action next summer.

The on-loan Burnley defender (26) showed glimpses of his quality on his Oldham debut at Gillingham.

A natural left-footer keen to supplement the attack, former Celtic trainee Lafferty is inOldham for a month - but has the ambition to nail down a regular place after being frozen out at Turf Moor. And his ultimate goal is to land a place in the Northern Ireland squad that last night secured its place in the France finals after beating Greece, capping a magnificent qualifying campaign.

“It is a great time to be a Northern Irish player and fan,” said Lafferty, who won the last of his dozen caps in a 1-1 friendly draw in Qatar in May.

“Nobody gave us a chance going into the campaign and, to be honest, expectations were aimed on third place and getting a possible play-off spot. But Michael O’Neill has put together a really good squad.

“On a personal level, I would like to get some game time and put myself back in the fray.”

Along with team-mate and Northern Ireland under-21s man Cameron Dummigan, Lafferty was only confirmed as an Athletic player last Friday morning before the squad headed for Kent.

Having signed initially on loan for a month, Lafferty says regular first-team action — last season, he spent time on loan at Rotherham — is vital.

“It is pretty tough at Burnley, trying to get game time, and it seems quite a settled side there with a few lads not getting the minutes they would like,” he added.

“There’s a chance now to get some game time and it is what you want to be doing as a player — playing on Saturdays and Tuesdays, getting 90 minutes under your belt.”

Lafferty revealed that the new permanent Latics boss is highly thought of: “He knows a few people at Burnley and he comes very highly recommended,” Lafferty said. “I can only second that from what I have seen so far.”