Ex-Rochdale winger set for second cap

Rochdale Football Club

Celtic winger Patrick McCourt is set for a second international cap almost seven years after making his Northern Ireland bow when he was at Rochdale.

The mercurial McCourt, who wowed the Rochdale faithful with some, at-times, mesmerising skills, was one of Rochdale's first ever players to play international football whilst at the club, alongside current striker Lee McEvilly, when the pair were called up for a friendly against Spain in June 2002.

Now, nearly seven years on, McCourt could pick up a second cap against minnows San Marino in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday (4 February).

McCourt was set for big things after he burst onto the scene with Rochdale, with scouts flocking to Spotland to watch the young talent as he helped Dale reach the play-offs in 2002.

The winger continued to impress during his time at the club but when manager Steve Parkin returned in 2004 it looked increasingly like McCourt did not fit in with the manager's plans and he was released in February 2005.

He returned to Ireland where he recaptured his form and love for the game, enjoying spells with Shamrock Rovers and his hometown club Derry City. His form for Derry culminated last summer when he earned a dream move to Celtic, signing a three-year contract.

Over the weekend he played the final half hour in Celtic's Scottish Cup win against Queens Park. His previous outings for the Old Firm club amount to just a few minutes on the pitch, coming on as a late substitute in Celtic's wins over Hibernian and Hearts towards the end of last year.