Northern Ireland’s players were made to feel at home the moment they arrived at their Euro 2016 base in France by the bedside pictures of their family that were left in their rooms.

Midfield pair Chris Baird and Oliver Norwood re-vealed the 23 men in Michael O’Neill’s squad found images of their loved ones collected by the Irish FA upon their arrival at their headquarters north of Lyon.

For a group of players not accustomed to spending an extended period away on international duty, it was a home comfort provided by the IFA that was duly appreciated ahead of them representing a country competing at a finals for the first time in 30 years.

Describing the scene in each player’s room, Baird explained: “When you just walk into your bedroom, just above the telly, you’ve got the final group – how it looked, your picture beside it and then – and I didn’t know this – but the family.

“It’s my wife and two kids in a bedside picture. Seeing the family side of things was really nice because I haven’t seen them in a long time. It just makes it seem a bit more homely. We didn’t expect it.”

The importance of highlighting the historic qualification success, when Northern Ireland became the first team from pot five to top a group, was also welcomed by Norwood.

“It’s important to have these reminders,” the Reading midfielder, who is expected to start when Northern Ireland begin against Poland in Nice on Sunday, said.

“These are special moments in our lives, in our careers, they are big moments that affected our lives and the whole country.”