BRYAN HAMILTON admits that with just a third of their qualifying programme completed, it's going to take a small miracle for Northern Ireland to get to the World Cup finals in France in just over 18 months time.

Yet this may not diminish either the vision of the manager, or the verve of his players, when they go in search of their first win in Group Nine against Albania at Windsor Park this afternoon.

Even for a team practised in the art of the improbable, a 1-1 draw against the European champions, Germany, at Nuremburg last month, was an achievement to savour.

Sadly, however, the merit of one of the best results in the World Cup series this season had already been eroded by a home defeat against the Ukraine and the loss of two more precious points against Armenia at Windsor Park.

Now, with a double assignment against Portugal and the return appointment with Germany stretching ahead, the loss of those five home points threatens to hang like a millstone in the new year.

"No matter which way you look at it, it's going to be very difficult for us to finish in the top two in the table and that's a shame when you consider how bravely we competed in Germany," said Hamilton.

"But even if we don't make it, we can still achieve some urgent goals like putting our dreadful record at Windsor Park to bed.

"It's two years since we lost an away game and that makes us one of the best in Europe when it comes to putting heads down and digging out a result. It's a different story, of course, when we go chasing games in Belfast. We simply don't seem to be able to stay focused for 90 minutes when we play at home - and it's proving very expensive.

"Every road has a turning, however, and if we beat Albania, it's just possible that we'll get the football public here back on our side and start winning games at Windsor."

On the face of it, they may never have a better chance of doing so. Albania, abrasive opposition for even the best on familiar terrain in Tirana, have never won a World Cup game away from home.

It's not an encouraging scenario for one of the poor relations of European football, but Astrit Hafizi, a fine international player who now manages the team, still manages to strike a defiant note.

"We saw a tape of Northern Ireland's game against the Ukraine and we think we can beat them," he said.

Of the five players unavailable to Hamilton because of injuries, the loss of Jim Magilton and Keith Gillespie threatens to be the most expensive. Gillespie's extrovert skills haven't always opened the supply lines to Ian Dowie at the front of the team, but his withdrawal because of a groin strain sustained in Newcastle's scoreless draw against Nottingham Forest last Monday, is still a serious blow.

Against that, however, the home team will be reassured by the presence of Tommy Wright, their most inspirational goalkeeper since Pat Jennings, whose career has been fragmented by injuries and personal problems.

Wright marked his return to the team after an interval of more than two years with some spectacular saves in the German match in which he was almost constantly under siege.

That workload is unlikely to be repeated now, for with Steve Lomas and Neil Lennon joining Michael Hughes in midfield, Northern Ireland should be able to create enough chances for Dowie to make it count where it really matters - on the scoreboard.