Will Grigg included in Northern Ireland squad for Euro 2016

Wigan forward Will Grigg has been included in Michael O'Neill's final 23-man Northern Ireland squad for Euro 2016.

The 24-year-old, who scored his first international goal in Northern Ireland's 3-0 victory over Belarus on Friday, is joined in the squad notably by Milton Keynes Dons right-back Lee Hodson and Doncaster Rovers centre-back Luke McCullough. 

Grigg scored 28 times in 43 appearances in all competitions this season to help Wigan win the Sky Bet League One title.

However Liam Boyce (Ross County), Billy McKay (Dundee United), Daniel Lafferty (Burnley), Ben Reeves (Milton Keynes Dons) and Michael Smith (Peterborough United) all miss out. 

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll, at 38, is the oldest player named in the squad by O'Neill, while Aaron Hughes, who is on 99 caps, is also included. 

When asked about the selection of Grigg, O'Neill told Sky Sports News HQ: "At the end of the day, we've got a player that scored 28 goals this season and his club have been promoted to the Championship.

"I think it would have been wrong to ignore the season that he has had and we saw it continue last night. We put him on the pitch for half-an-hour and he popped up with his first international goal.

"He is a player in a good place at the moment and can have an impact at the tournament."

O'Neill also spoke about the difficulty of reducing his squad from 28 to 23 players for the finals in France.   

"It's difficult, maybe it's more difficult because you've got a smaller bunch of players to choose from as it's a little bit more personal in terms of leaving players out," he added.

"I had to let the lads know, the five lads that were with us in the training camp, earlier in the week and it was difficult.

"They all probably deserved to go there. For the tournament we have to be a bit more stringent with the numbers and there were a few tough decisions.

"The players, to be honest, were great and I have to commend them on that and I think they understood why I had made those decisions."

Northern Ireland Euro 2016 squad

Goalkeepers: Roy Carroll, Michael McGovern, Alan Mannus.

Defenders: Jonny Evans, Gareth McAuley, Craig Cathcart, Conor McLaughlin, Shane Ferguson, Lee Hodson, Luke McCullough, Aaron Hughes. 

Midfielders: Stuart Dallas, Chris Baird, Jamie Ward, Steven Davis, Oliver Norwood, Corry Evans, Niall McGinn, Paddy McNair.

Forwards: Kyle Lafferty, Conor Washington, Josh Magennis, Will Grigg.