The former Barnet manager is in charge of England’s C team, first started in 1979 and still going strong despite the threat of recent years that reduced funding may jeopardise its existence.
Its reason for being encompasses two major strands.
Firstly it gives an opportunity to players to enjoy the thrill and prestige of wearing the England shirt, singing the national anthem and testing their mettle against a different kind of opposition than they would normally face.
Increasingly, as the ‘Non-League’ game moves more and more onto a professional footing, with full-time clubs and players, it acts as a further showcase for those players to earn moves into the Football League and beyond.
England C are next in action when they travel to Slovakia in November for the final of the International Challenge tournament against the host's Under 21 national team.
Fairclough told The Non-League Paper this week: "It will be a real challenge because Slovakia were really not happy about how they finished up in the U21 European Championships."