Ross County forward Liam Boyce says the birth of his first child quickly eased his disappointment at missing out on a place in Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 squad.
Boyce, who was the Staggies’ leading-scorer with 20 goals last season, had been regularly selected by national team manager Michael O’Neill, but missed out on a place in the final 23-man squad for this summer’s tournament to Wigan Athletic attacker Will Grigg.
Northern Ireland enjoyed a successful tournament, progressing to the last 16 of the competition before being knocked out by Wales following a 1-0 defeat on Saturday.
Watching from home has not been as difficult as Boyce initially feared though, following the birth of his daughter Scout earlier this month, a moment the 25-year-old said would have been hard to miss.
Boyce said: “I’ve not found it too difficult not being there. When I found out I wasn’t going I was bitterly disappointed but then it was going to come down to a choice between that and my first child being born.
“My fiancee Leoncha gave birth the day of the first match and that would have caused a bit of hassle if I had to go to Michael and ask to leave.
“I wanted to be going out and playing for my country, but seeing my daughter being born put things in perspective. I would have been in a bit of a difficult situation had I been picked.
“All the family wanted me to be there for the birth of my child and I’m glad I did.
“Missing the tournament turned out to be a blessing in disguise. She had a bit of a temperature when she was born and we had to stay in hospital for a few days. But we had her home for a week and a half before I came back over here. They’re coming over here after I come back from the pre-season trip to Hungary so I’ve got some time to prepare for some sleepless nights.”
County returned to pre-season training on Friday, and Boyce is ready to step up his preparations for the new campaign. He added: “I had about four weeks off from being let go from the Northern Ireland squad and I had about 10 days of that just not doing anything.
“But I was working with a mate of mine from school who’s a personal trainer to get back up to speed.
“I feel ready and fit and just have to get through pre-season without picking up any knocks.”
