The Irish FA has has announced that Michael O’Neill will continue as the manager of the national team. It seems to be the best choice for Northern Ireland football team but the manager will have to review his timetable once talks about his contract resume later this month.
Even though O’Neill’s initial campaign for qualifying for the Brazil World Cup suffered big blows following losses against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg he has one last chance to prove himself when the team plays against Israel tonight. However, he has already been receiving overwhelming support from different quarters.
When he first succeeded Nigel Worthington and when asked about his opinion on this responsibility and whether he felt that he could accomplish the task within the two-year period, he said that if he were comparing the team with others in the world, it would require 25 years of training to attain the goals ahead of him. Though this kind of humorous reply showed serious intent, there is little chance that the IFA will give the manager a 25-year contract. He might have to attain such goals within his contract period, 2 years.
O’Neill has to prove himself as an able candidate in tonight’s match with Tel Aviv, otherwise some people may question his abilities. His attitude, as he spoke before the clash tonight, was definitely that of a man committed to his new work. When commenting on his attitude towards a continued commitment he was as steady as ever saying that this has never changed since the contract began.
He quoted the former Wales manager as saying that not many international managers had done the job effectively before him and that he has had to learn through experience to deliver positive results. He said that it all boiled down to whether one believed that the players would deliver or not.
He was convinced that their performances deserved better results and that it was coming. He said that it was just a matter of time. He also spoke of some of the problems he was facing in his job. Though his fans might disagree, O’Neill seems to perceive problems, which were tougher than just the occasional loss to Luxembourg or the one at Baku.