Newcastle United goalkeeper coach Steve Harper is delighted to be joining the Northern Ireland staff.

Harper has been cleared by Newcastle to join Michael O'Neill's backroom team.

"I met Michael O'Neill at a Newcastle game about six weeks ago and we were just talking football - nothing was mentioned about any roles, it was just a general chit-chat about Newcastle United," Harper told nufc.co.uk.

"Michael obviously played there back in the day and it was the first time I'd met him.

"Then I got a call out of the blue just to say that the position was available and would I be interested in doing it? The opportunity to work at international level was something I wasn't fortunate enough to do as a player but I have a lot of European experience from my time at Newcastle and, briefly, at Hull, and it's an opportunity you can't afford to turn down."