Steven Davis praises Northern Ireland "squad effort"

Steven Davis has praised the "squad effort" of Northern Ireland after they qualified for Euro 2016 during the international break.

The Southampton midfielder, who captains his country, scored twice in the 3-1 win over Greece to help his side book their spot in next summer's tournament with a qualifier to spare.

The 30-year-old told his club's website: "It really has been a squad effort. Everybody has played their part in the campaign and all the staff deserves recognition for it as well.

"To lead your team out and put on the type of performance that we did, personally for me as well, was a very, very proud moment. It's not always been easy going away and playing for Northern Ireland because we're underdogs and a smaller nation. It's difficult to get consistency with results that we'd like, but there have been some memorable nights, and this campaign surpassed many previous sides of the country.

"You only have to look back at the last time we qualified for a major tournament to see how big an achievement this is, but it is a bit strange sitting here instead of dreaming about going to France, we're actually going to be there."

Southampton face Leicester City in the Premier League this weekend.