Northen Ireland manager Worthington retains Stephen Craigan as captain

Motherwell defender Stephen Craigan will retain the captain's armband when Northern Ireland face Montenegro in a friendly in Podgorica today.

It was widely expected Maik Taylor would replace the injured Aaron Hughes as skipper. Instead Craigan will again lead the team out - when he wins his 49th cap - as he did during the two-match mini tour in the summer against Turkey and Chile.

Birmingham goalkeeper Taylor will start the match and manager Nigel Worthington said: "Stephen is heading towards his 50th cap and with Aaron not being here it is nice to share the captaincy around. Stephen has been the captain in the last two games and did very well in the role. I spoke to Maik and he had no issues with it at all. He is delighted for Stephen. It is good for the group that different players can have that experience."

Worthington's wish list ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifiers would see David Healy playing week in, week out. Despite being Northern Ireland's record goalscorer the Sunderland striker is no longer assured of a place in the team because he is so far out of the picture at his club.

Healy now faces an anxious wait to see what unfolds in tonight's warm-up. Worthington said: "The situation with David is straightforward...he needs to play football. It is not just about David, it is about other players. But David has not played enough first-team football. He's had 12 starts in two years. For a professional footballer to have that amount of starts and be trying to perform at the very top level either Premiership or international, is a tough ask."

Worthington also has more options in attack than he did a year ago. Along with Healy, Kyle Lafferty, Martin Paterson, Warren Feeney and Rory Patterson are all vying for places.