Fulham captain Aaron Hughes will use this week's spell with the Northern Ireland squad to relieve the stress and pressures of a desperate relegation battle.
The former Aston Villa centre-half is currently embroiled in a frantic bid to help the west London club, who are second from bottom in the Barclays Premier League, stave off the dreaded drop.
Defeat to Newcastle on Saturday - Kevin Keegan's first win in his second spell as Magpies boss - only added to Hughes' woe.
Story continues below...
The threat of relegation will hang over his head when he leads out his country against eastern European minnows Georgia at Windsor Park.
But 28-year-old Hughes is determined to put any thoughts of club football to the back of his mind - even if it is for one night only.
"Coming back to Northern Ireland for this friendly helps to take my mind off our battle against relegation," admitted Hughes, who is the only Northern Ireland international in the current Fulham team with striker David Healy and full-back Chris Baird banished to the reserves under manager Roy Hodgson.
"Every game is important at the minute for us, and every time we go into training we are working on different things to try to improve our game so that we are ready for another scrap come match day.
"The fact I have been able to come away for a few days is a pleasant change and distraction. We'll get the game out of the way and then come Thursday we'll return to our clubs and concentrate on the weekend games.
"It's nice to be able to meet up with the lads and have something fresh in your mind to think about."
Hughes will captain Northern Ireland for the 28th time against Georgia but this evening will be an extra-special occasion for the Cookstown-born defender - it will be exactly 10 years since he made his international debut.
But he says the last three years - which have included victories over European giants England, Spain and Sweden - have been magical.
"We've made a steady rise up the rankings and that is so pleasing," says Hughes, who has two and half years left to run on his Fulham contract.
"It's been a great honour to captain the boys in those victories against such great teams and I hope our excellent form continues in the World Cup qualifiers."
While Northern Ireland have progressed dramatically in qualification matches, their record in friendlies, especially at Windsor Park, is atrocious.
The men in green have won only one game in 16 matches at the south Belfast venue.
Hughes is determined to improve that record against Georgia - but insists he would rather lose a friendly if it means positive results in the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers which start on September 6 in Slovakia.
"I'm not overly concerned with the record. I would take six defeats in friendlies if it meant we would win six games in the World Cup qualifiers," admitted Hughes.
"These friendlies are all about preparation and working on things for the qualifiers. Those are the games that are important.
"Of course we want to win every game we play in but if these matches help Nigel (Worthington) try a few different things to help us win in the qualifiers then I'm all for it."
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £36.50 ON SOUTHEND v DONCASTER
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Friday evening's League One Play-Off clash between Southend and Doncaster, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 7.45pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £36.50, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time, you will be at least £36.50 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £71.00 on the Southend v Doncaster match and we will collect £107.50 if Doncaster win, £107.50 if Southend win and £107.81 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 51%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Place £20.00 on Doncaster at 2.75 (7/4) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Doncaster as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Doncaster.
Back the draw with £26.00 at 3.3 (9/4) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on Southend at 2.15 (23/20) with Extrabet.
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on Southend.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £71.00 on the Southend v Doncaster match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If Doncaster win, you collect £107.50. That's £82.50 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £107.81. That's £82.81 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Southend win you collect £107.50. That's £82.50 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Southend v Doncaster match is no draw and you make £36.50 profit. However, if it is a draw you make £36.81. That's a minimum profit of 51%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
