NORTHERN IRELAND v FINLAND:NORTHERN IRELAND manager Michael O'Neill had no qualms about selecting Rangers duo Andy Little and Dean Shiels for tonight's friendly against Finland but will continue to monitor their situation over the course of the season.

Despite the troubled club’s demotion to the Scottish Third Division, a host of international players have opted to remain at Ibrox – including Little, who agreed a new deal with Ally McCoist’s side in the summer despite their fall from grace.

Shiels, meanwhile, left Premier League side Kilmarnock to join the Gers despite fellow Northern Ireland internationals Steven Davis and Kyle Lafferty leaving for Southampton and Sion respectively.

Whether or not life in the fourth tier of Scottish football will be enough to sustain Little and Shiels through a difficult World Cup qualifying campaign remains to be seen, and O’Neill has vowed to keep an open mind on the subject.

But for now, he is happy to have the pair involved.

“Everyone asks: ‘Will the level they’re playing at prepare them to play internationals?’ Well, the reality is they’ve only played a couple of games so we’re not really able to assess that at this minute in time,” he said.

“We will be able to assess that throughout the season, but certainly both players have looked very sharp. Rangers are playing at a lower level competitively but the standard they prepare at will still be the same as they did previously.”

Lafferty was the only squad member to miss training yesterday with a knock, but O’Neill has not ruled him out of contention.