Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez has backed the four senior players who decided to stand down from the international side.Jeff Whitley, Phil Mulryne, Colin Murdock and James Quinn, all free agents, decided to opt out for fear of being injured. Keith Gillespie, who is in the same boat, did play as Northern Ireland went down 4-1 to Germany in a friendly at Windsor Park.Sanchez said: "I understand why the four players did not play. I fully back their decision. Their livelihoods could have been affected by the situation here if they had got injured. They have to put their families first."
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