Northern Ireland's Ali McCann 'buzzing' ahead of Tottenham FA Cup clash

After beating Huddersfield 3-1 in the previous stage, the Lilywhites were rewarded with a tie against the Premier League giants in front of home support and in the prime TV slot of Saturday at 6pm on BBC.

McCann joined Preston for a seven-figure fee in August 2021 after starring for St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership and had already burst onto the international scene.

Since then, the 23-year-old has played 52 times in the Sky Bet Championship, including 24 of Preston’s 28 league outings this season, helping Ryan Lowe’s side into 11th spot – just two points adrift of a play-off berth.

It has been another campaign of development for the promising midfielder and that improvement will be there for the world to see when high-profile Spurs rock up at Deepdale.

"I've played a lot of games this year,” McCann told the News Letter. "We've lacked a little bit of consistency this season but I think on the whole it has been positive and I'm just happy to play and give what I can to the team.

"I was watching the draw and we were the first one out so I was just buzzing.

"You always want a big team, especially at home because it gives you more of a chance to get something out of the game.

"We're the evening game on the TV so we're all looking forward to it."

McCann won’t be overawed by the occasion having got a feel for the big stage and bright lights while on international duty, collecting 16 caps and scoring his first goal in a friendly against Malta.

He has already had midfield battles with the likes of PSG and Italy star Marco Verratti and the Scottish-born maestro is excited to take on some of the world’s best players once again.

"You may as well have a go at players like that,” he added. “They are some of the best players in the world so it doesn't get much better than that.

"It's a big stage for us but we'll be looking forward to it."

While McCann’s full focus is on his everyday role at Preston, the opening two games of Northern Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against San Marino (March 23) and Finland (March 2026) are also in the back of his mind.

He wants to make sure he puts in consistent performances in order to get a first call-up from Michael O’Neill, who is back in charge after the departure of former boss Ian Baraclough.

"I'm buzzing for it,” he said. “You never want to see anyone lose their job like Ian before which is disappointing but when Michael got the job there's a lot of optimism going forward.

"I've never worked under him before so I'm looking forward to, hopefully, getting called up for March and working under him for the first time.

"I went up (to senior training under O’Neill) once or twice but it was towards the tail end so never got to train properly.

"Hopefully I can be in around the squad from March and I'm really looking forward to it...I've only heard good things about it from all the lads so that should be good.

"They achieved a lot under him last time so if we can do the same this time around it will be huge."

While things ultimately didn’t work out for former boss Baraclough in terms of results, McCann still owes a lot to the 52-year-old, who not only handed him his first senior cap but also brought him into the under-21 fold for the first time in October 2019.

"He has been huge for me,” admitted McCann. “He gave me my debut and I've racked up a good number of caps with him.

"I owe him a lot for getting my international career started and I'm really thankful to him for giving me all those experiences.

"It's disappointing for him to lose his job but he moves on and, hopefully, I can rack up some more caps going forward and start a fresh campaign in March."

Kicking off with a trip to the world’s bottom-ranked side before hosting Finland – a country Northern Ireland defeated on their way to qualifying for Euro 2016 – provides the Green and White Army with a start they should take advantage of before tougher tests against Denmark and Slovenia await.

A teenage McCann took in the glorious scenes in France 2016 from home and, having watched the recent World Cup in Qatar, it gives McCann a burning desire to make his own mark on the biggest stages in football.

"You really target those first two matches and if we can start the group on the front foot and get three points in each of those games, it can only be good for us going forward,” he said. "Fingers crossed we have cause for optimism going forward because we have lots of quality in the squad.

"Looking back at 2016, it looked unreal with all the fans travelling out there.

"The World Cup makes you want to be involved in it and my goal for my career is to be involved in something like that, so why not start now?"

Televised FA Cup fourth-round ties: Accrington v Leeds, Preston v Tottenham, Manchester United v Reading, Brighton v Liverpool, Wrexham v Sheffield United, Derby v West Ham.