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Steven Davis, head coach of the Northern Ireland first team, believes that Michael O’Neill’s squad’s recent successes at the club level should encourage their development abroad.

In recent weeks, a number of players participated in important events for their teams in preparation for Denmark’s upcoming friendlies on June 7 and Iceland’s upcoming home games on June 10.

From the Irish FA’s coach education course in Belfast, Davis explained, “You just have to look at some of the individual seasons the players have had,” Davis explained to BBC Sport NI. “Obviously, Conor]Bradley] won the Premier League with Liverpool [with Chelsea], Justin Devenny won the FA Cup with Crystal Palace [with] and Trai Hume and Dan Ballard were promoted to the Premier League with Sunderland.

The players need to continue to advance at their clubs, according to the coach, and that’s what they’re doing. They just need to do so.

If that’s the case, they will ultimately be better positioned to fit into the international order.

The 140-time world champion international remarked that the group had experienced “a lot of progress over the past 12 or 18 months,” with a slew of encouraging results and the team leading their Nations League group.

The upcoming friendly double-header serves as a prelude to World Cup qualifying starting in September.

Because of how limited time you can spend with the players in international football, these games are crucial because they help you maximize that time, reinforce your ideas, and add layers to them whenever you do.

“We will be tested as well by the intensity of the opposition in the two games.”

Davis claims that O’Neill’s backroom team is a good place to work.

He is demanding, which you must be. He is very thorough. He said, “I thought that as a player as well.”

As members of the coaching staff, it’s obvious that you can see a small portion of a different side, and we spend a lot of time analyzing problems together.

He’s a great coach, and he’s very open to our thoughts as coaches. You can express your views, but he ultimately decides the matters.

The former Rangers midfielder claims he has ambitions to become a manager while pursuing his Uefa Pro Licence.

You only learn [coaching ability] by gaining experience and being inside and around it. That’s the best learning curve, which includes both time spent on the grass and real-world scenarios. That is how you develop.

Heather Knight, an England batter, will miss The Hundred and will miss the rest of the summer due to a hamstring injury.

During England’s third T20 victory over West Indies on Monday, the 34-year-old former captain Knight suffered the injury.

In the 17-run victory over the batswoman, she was unable to take the field for the second innings because of her limp and struggled to run between the wickets at the end of her knock.

According to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), a scan on Tuesday revealed a “significant tendon injury to her right hamstring.”

After winning the NBA Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder “have a lot more work to do,” according to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Thunder won the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series 4-1 thanks to the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), who had 34 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists in the 124-94 victory.

After being defeated by the Miami Heat in 2012, the Thunder are still on the verge of winning their first NBA title.

Let’s get ready, Gilgeous-Alexander said, “This is a step in the right direction, but we still have a lot to do to reach our ultimate goal.”

“Only that is all I’m focused on,” I said. Our road is still evolving.

The Thunder will host Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday when they take on the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks for the NBA title. With game five scheduled for Thursday, India leads the series 3-1.

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Steph Curry are the only players to have reached the Finals the same year as winning MVP, joining Gilgeous-Alexander.

The 26-year-old Canadian won the NBA title in the same season as Shaquille O’Neal, who was also named Western Conference MVP on Wednesday.

The Thunder, who are the youngest team in the NBA Finals since the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977, have an average age of 25.6 years, led the team to record 22 points and Jalen Williams to record 19 of them.

These guys really make me feel like I’m playing AAU basketball, like I’m back in 15 years, Gilgeous-Alexander continued.

It’s simply enjoyable. That is what makes us exceptional. Being together makes us so much fun.

The Timberwolves’ season ended in the conference finals for the second consecutive year after falling to the Dallas Mavericks last year.

Anthony Edwards, who had 19 points for the Timberwolves and was paced by Julius Randle, added, “They dominated the game from the tip.”

After a “heavy” crash during training in Japan, Honda rider Luca Marini is in a hospital with numerous injuries.

The 27-year-old Italian crashed on Wednesday at the Suzuka circuit, suffering from a dislocated hip, sternum fractures, a right-collapsed lung, and damage to the knee ligaments.

Marini, who is 13th overall in the MotoGP world championships for the year 2025, was taken to a hospital and later described as stable.

“I want to thank everyone for their support. Marini posted a message on Instagram, “I’ll keep you posted.”

Marini was getting ready for the annual Suzuka 8 Hour, a Honda-owned Suzuka circuit endurance race.

Marini will be subject to medical evaluation until he is deemed fit to travel once more in Japan, according to Honda.