Nigel Worthington has begun plotting a route to South Africa after being confirmed as Northern Ireland's manager for the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

As expected, the former Norwich boss was today unveiled as the man to lead the province over the next two years.

Any doubts over the likelihood of Worthington taking charge permanently were all but ended when he was among the Irish Football Association's delegation in Bratislava on Wednesday as their fixture list for the qualifying campaign was determined.

The Ulstermen must negotiate a pool including Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and San Marino if they are to end what will be a 24-year wait to make it to a major finals.

And after witnessing his team gain momentum impressively in his six games in temporary charge, as they unsuccessfully attempted to reach Euro 2008, Worthington is confident Northern Ireland can do just that.

"That's what you want to do, go out and win as many games as you can, and one of the reasons I've taken the job is that we've got good players at the moment," he said.

"There's a nice blend of experience and young players in the team and there's a good spirit, and that's the way I like to manage and long may it continue."

He added: "It's a hard group but you can always get harder, and you can always get easier.

"It's a good group, it will be a very competitive pool and Czech Republic are obviously the big boys and favourites for qualification. But we like a fight, we'll meet the challenge head on and look forward to it."

Worthington was pitched into the middle of Northern Ireland's bid to reach this summer's finals in Austria and Switzerland following Lawrie Sanchez's decision to quit and take over at Fulham in May.

He arrived on a caretaker basis with the team top of their qualifying group but found it initially difficult to continue his predecessor's stellar work.

Defeats in Latvia and Iceland virtually ended their hopes of emerging from their group, but a subsequent win over Denmark, a draw in Sweden and a narrow loss in Spain suggested Worthington was finding his feet.

"I'm delighted to be manager of my own country," the former defender said. "It's something to be very proud of and a great challenge, so I'm looking forward to it."

Worthington, 46, was always confident he would be handed the reins on a long-term basis.

"The conversations have been going for the last month or so, we've been discussing things and getting everything right on both sides," he revealed.

"That's all sorted and we're just looking forward to the next two years.

"The situation was that I went in for six games at the tail end of the European qualifiers and I was very pleased with the way things went on the whole there, and both parties were quite happy to continue thereafter."

Worthington will begin with a friendly against Bulgaria at Windsor Park on February 6th, with Georgia also visiting Belfast a month later before real business begins with the first qualifier in Slovakia on September 6th.

And he has already decided who will lead his team for the foreseeable future.

"It's a straightforward answer - Aaron Hughes," he said. "Aaron's an exceptional professional, on and off the field, and he's a good leader as well.

"So to have that type of person within is great, and he's a gentleman as well, which is also important for the role."