ACCRINGTON Stanley forward Shay McCartan earned a first Northern Ireland call-up after impressing boss Michael O'Neill in a training camp in Manchester last week.

The 23-year-old scored 11 times for the Reds from January onwards last season and he linked up with O'Neill and a number of other players on the fringes of the Northern Ireland set-up in Manchester from May 22 to 25.

And it was McCartan's work at that camp that has been a crucial factor in landing a first senior call-up for a friendly at home to New Zealand on June 2 and a World Cup qualifier in Azerbaijan on June 10.

"It will be a great experience," McCartan said of his international call. "I can’t believe it really.

"The training camp was tough, there was a lot of small-sided games and getting fitness back after two or three weeks off and it was great to be called up to that.

"I was quite relaxed. I knew a few lads from the Under 21s and there were a few of us who were there for the first time so it was easy to settle in.

"After the first day, the coaches pulled me to one side and said I had done well and to keep doing what I had been doing and enjoy it.

"Then on the second day, Michael said I hadn’t really been in his plans but I had done so well he was going to take me away so I am buzzing."

The former Burnley youngster has strung together his most consistent season yet for Stanley in League Two, starting 26 league games and making a further eight appearances off the bench.

It was the first time in his four years at the Wham Stadium that McCartan had started more than 11 league games and the first time he'd hit double figures in terms of goals.

Now he's hoping his form will be rewarded with a first international cap.

"The friendly is at Windsor Park in Belfast where I haven’t played since I was around nine and then to be involved in a World Cup qualifier is special," he told Stanley's official website.

"I never expected to get this far being a League Two player but it just goes to show.

"There is a chance I could get some game time, you never know, so I am just really happy. I don’t mind that my summer is not for resting!"