McNair was part of Michael O’Neill’s squad that ended the country’s 30-year wait to play at another major tournament and recorded their maiden European Championship victory by beating Ukraine 2-0. With Josh Magennis left out of the panel to face Switzerland and Sweden in this month’s friendly double-header, it leaves McNair, who has earned 73 international caps to date, as the most experienced player at O’Neill’s disposal. The 29-year-old has recently moved to Major League Soccer side San Diego FC and has been named as captain for Friday’s clash with the Swiss at Windsor Park. With the likes of Terry Devlin, Jamie Donley and Ronan Hale all hoping to earn their maiden senior caps over the coming days, McNair’s experience could prove crucial in helping new faces settle into life on the international stage. "When you get called up for Northern Ireland you always feel that responsibility,” he said. “With me being one of the more experienced players, that goes up a bit, especially with Bailey (Peacock-Farrell) and Josh not here this week because they’ve a lot of caps. "The last couple of years the squad has been quite young so I don’t think it changes too much. "I try and lead by example, train well every day and have the odd conversation with them. I’m open to helping them when they want. "I’m just trying to be myself and lead by example.” Aged 21 at the time, former Manchester United star McNair was the youngest member of Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 squad and had the luxury of looking up to senior stars including Steven Davis, Aaron Hughes, Chris Baird and Gareth McAuley. There’s high hopes for the current crop with the likes of Liverpool star Conor Bradley, who misses out this month through injury, Isaac Price, Shea Charles and Trai Hume all providing plenty of cause for optimism ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign which gets underway in September. "When I came in I was one of two or three young lads then all the rest were my age at that time and very experienced,” added McNair. “They are two different squads but both very talented in different ways. "I’ve got a lot of high hopes for this group. There’s a lot of talent. "The first campaign was tough but it stands them in good stead going forward and I think you seen that in the Nations League campaign with topping the group and playing very well throughout it. "These next two games are a step up from that and it will be a good test for the World Cup qualifiers starting in September. "There’s a lot of talented players and with each campaign they are getting more experience so I think in the long run it’s very exciting and if we could qualify for the 2026 World Cup it would be amazing, but there’s a lot of hard work to get there.”