"It's probably the best thing I've ever done" - Former Northern Ireland youth international Paul Morgan on his time working with Montserrat

The other is Montserrat – a mountainous Caribbean island 4,000 miles away from home with a population about the size of Moira – who currently sit 179th of 211 teams in the FIFA rankings, below the likes of Moldova, Belize and Cambodia.

They are preparing for CONCACAF Nations League matches against Haiti (Saturday) and Guyana (Wednesday) and are hoping to build on last year’s 3-2 victory over Bermuda where their most notable player, Lyle Taylor of Nottingham Forest, scored a brace.

Having finished up a playing career that took in the likes of Preston North End, Lincoln City, Bury and Macclesfield Town, 44-year-old former Northern Ireland youth international Morgan has moved into physiotherapy, first with Accrington Stanley and now with Preston’s academy, who he transferred to aged 16 from County Antrim youth side St Andrews.

It was at Accrington where he met former Manchester City defender Willie Donachie – the Montserrat manager – who offered him the chance to embark on a Caribbean adventure and despite some initial reservations, Morgan couldn’t be happier that he took the opportunity.

"It's probably the best thing I've ever done,” he said. “I met Willie when he started to help out with the academy at Accrington Stanley where I was a physio and he asked me if I fancied doing it.

"I wasn't too sure because there's a lot of travelling - I know people are thinking you're going to the Caribbean but you're travelling for 36 hours without sleep.

"It's one of the best things I've done because I've got to see so many beautiful countries in the Caribbean and flew all over the place which has been amazing.

"The group of lads that go away some of them are playing amateur football and are a breath of fresh air. Footballers are great people but these lads are working alongside playing part-time and they have a lovely way about them in how they conduct themselves and how professional they are even though they aren't playing in a professional environment.

"They are basically like brothers. Some of them knew each other their whole lives. The Comley brothers (Brandon and James) grew up with a few of the other lads from Montserrat in London and played street football together and now they are playing international football and travelling the world together."

Now at Preston, Morgan doesn’t have the same time in order to travel to the matches but is still just as invested in their success.

Montserrat play in the Blakes Estate Stadium – a ground with a capacity of 1,000 near the village of Look Out – which is a far cry from the 24,404 that can fit into Deepdale.

His time with the national set-up has allowed Morgan to travel to places he would never have dreamed of visiting and says experiences like that make all the sacrifices to get to where he is worthwhile.

"When we played the likes of El Salvador we had police and security when we're training because it's a third world country,” he added. “You had these convoys on the way to training and games.

"The fans are fanatic and some of the stadiums are like South American ones with the colour. It's stripping football right back to what everyone fell in love with, taking it back to its roots which is quite refreshing.

"Montserrat is beautiful. It's untouched so isn't touristy. They don't have big shopping malls or anything like that and only have a population of about 5,000.

"Willie and I would walk to training and back every day and going for dinner it was about a mile walk up this mountain on a volcanic island. The scenery was lovely and we would do these walks and there wouldn't be a car that passed you. It was like you're on this deserted island.

"St Lucia, Grenada, Curacao - they are all beautiful countries and the people so friendly. I remember going to El Salvador and my missus was telling me to not go out walking about, but Willie loved going out for walks so we would go!

"Just seeing different people and cultures is lovely and to have that opportunity alone has been worth everything in terms of coming away as a young kid. Take away the football element in terms of playing – just to get to see this whole different side has been brilliant."