'If the call comes I am ready' - Chesterfield striker Will Grigg would 'absolutely love' to play for Northern Ireland again

The striker, 32, has been capped 13 times by Northern Ireland, scoring two goals. His last appearance came back in 2018.

He was part of Michael O'Neill's Euro 2016 squad but never made an appearance during the finals in France. O'Neill was reappointed as manager at the end of last year.

Grigg scored a brace in Chesterfield’s 4-0 win against York City on Tuesday night, taking his total to eight goals in 16 games in all competitions.

“That is a bit of a strange one but I don’t think they will be knocking on the door any time soon,” Grigg said on the possibility of being called-up.

“I wanted to play for my country and I loved every minute of it. It is one of those things that I will look back on and be gutted that I have not got more caps. If that call comes I am definitely here so we will have to wait and see.”

When asked by the DT if they are watching his performances, he replied: “To be honest, I don’t think they are. They are struggling for goals at the moment and I am scoring goals. I don’t know how many strikers are out there that are doing that. I would absolutely love to play for my country again so we will see what happens.”

Reflecting on his time playing for his country, he added: “I have loved it. I was frustrated not to play more at times when I was at Wigan and playing regularly in the Championship. Every time I have been away it has been a pleasure - they are the best fans in the world by an absolute mile. They are genuinely the most positive fans you have ever seen so if I could play at Windsor Park again that would be a complete honour.”

Grigg’s close-range finish made it 3-0 against York before he added a clever fourth from a very tight angle. Although he admits he probably should have more goals, he explained his role in the side is about much more than that.

He said: “A lot of teams play three at the back. Not many of those three defenders move out of the area when it goes wide so you have got almost three marking me at times which is difficult but I pride myself on being a poacher. The gaffer wants me to stay away from the game, my job is essentially to create space for other people, I think at times it probably looks like I am not doing much but it is my job to stretch the line and create space for the three flair players behind me. I probably should have 11 or 12 goals but eight is nice.”

The forward said they were a bit ‘rusty’ in the first-half but their focus after the break was to play with more width and to tire York out. The result opens up a two-point gap at the top of the table but they are keeping their feet on the floor.

He added: “We are not getting too high, we are not getting too excited, to win this league is a really tough ask so nobody is getting carried away.”