Northern Ireland: Nadene Caldwell backs ‘breath of fresh air’ Kris Lindsay for permanent NI job

“It’s a question for him, but would we love to have him? Yes.”

He may have only had a handful of training sessions with Northern Ireland, but interim boss Kris Lindsay has already left a big impression on his players according to long-serving midfielder Nadene Caldwell.

Lindsay will lead NI in their opening two 2027 World Cup qualifiers away to Switzerland on Tuesday, 3 March and at home to Turkey on Saturday, 7 March.

What happens beyond that for Lindsay, who also manages the Northern Ireland men’s under-16 team, remains to be seen, but early indications from Caldwell suggest the players are fully behind Tanya Oxtoby’s short-term replacement.

“Kris has come in for these two games and has been a breath of fresh air,” she told BBC Sport NI’s Nicola McCarthy.

“He’s had home-based sessions for the players and you can see his enthusiasm already and hopefully that will come across on the pitch. He wants every individual player to be 1% better and that’s all we can ask.

“Kris has been very open, honest and transparent with the players, he’s fully in. He’s laid out what he wants and the players what they want, so we’re on the same page.

“I’m sure he would like to go on and take the job, it’s something he’s involved in and he’ll like to stay involved in.”