"It's important it's the right move for the right person at the right time."

Joely Andrews may only be 22 years of age but she feels like a seasoned international with 25 Northern Ireland caps to her name.

A star with Glentoran after breaking into the team as a teenager, she had long spoken about her desire to step into full-time football, but had been biding her time in Northern Ireland's domestic league until July of last year.

A move to Scotland with Hearts followed last summer and, after a strong start to life in Edinburgh, it appears that was the right move at the right time.

"It's been challenging and that's what I wanted from the move," said Andrews.

"It's been really good for me and I'm really enjoying it."

Andrews admits it has been a "step up" as she progressed into a full-time environment with Hearts, but she feels she has developed into a more accomplished player.

"Being on the pitch every day and getting touches has improved me and my game, I have definitely developed.

"Training has been a challenge, but it's been good for my game. My game understanding has improved.

"Especially at the higher level, you can't play the same way for 90 minutes and you have to be adaptable.

"That's been a big thing for me from the summer to now."

Andrews is speaking on Northern Ireland duty ahead of their opening Nations League opener in Poland on Friday.

It is the first time Tanya Oxtoby's side have been in action since their heavy Euro 2025 play-off defeat by Norway before Christmas, though the 7-0 scoreline doesn't tell the full story.

Norway were always favourites to progress from the moment the draw was made, and most of the damage was done as a youthful Northern Ireland side were caught in the headlights in the first leg in Larne.

But in the second leg, Oxtoby's side made the star-studded Norway side work for their goals. NI handed the hosts the first two goals with mistakes, before a deflected third sealed the win.

For Andrews, who has become a crucial cog in Oxtoby's machine, the difference between the two legs was clear.

"When you play top teams like Norway, even if the result doesn't go your way you can still learn a lot of it.

"That was definitely the case with us. Between the first leg and second leg, we can take a lot from the performance.

"That's the standard. We've set the bar. In the long run that game will stand us in good stead."

Andrews says Northern Ireland "want to hit the ground running" in League B in Gdansk on Friday, before Bosnia-Herzegovina, who NI defeated twice in Euro 2025 qualifying, visit Larne on Tuesday.

The Nations League has implications for World Cup qualifying in the next campaign, with promotion and relegation in play.

"We have grown a lot as a team and a squad from the last campaign, so it's important to get off to a good start," she added.

"We weren't satisfied with the result [against Norway] but the process was in the right direction.

"We're aiming to be right up there pushing for the top of the group and League A. We're in League B and our aim is to get out of it.

"We're not going to go into any game just to play it for the sake of it. We'll go to take points."