SOUTHEND United defender Adam Thompson is backing Northern Ireland to keep on springing surprises at Euro 2016. 

Michael O’Neill’s side upset the odds to qualifying for the European Championships.

But Thompson – who has played for Northern Ireland at under 17, 19 and 21 levels before also playing for the senior side – believes they have not finished yet.

“Northern Ireland obviously got through to the finals through a group that was quite challenging so they definitely deserve to be there and will be keen to do well,” said Thompson.

“They look a lot more deadly attacking wise and in every game I've seen them play they've always looked like scoring at some point, which was not always the case in the past.

“They have done well against some big teams already so there’s no reason why they can't make history again and I really hope they do.”

This will be Northern Ireland’s first ever appearance in the European Championships and it begins with a clash against Poland before they also face Ukraine and Germany in the group stages.