Michael O’Neill has said he always hoped he would return as Northern Ireland manager after leaving to take over Stoke City almost three years ago.
O’Neill, who guided NI to Euro 2016 during his first eight-year spell, has replaced Ian Barraclough after his sacking in October.
The 53-year-old explained that there were a number of factors in his decision to return, including conversations he has had with players.
“I hoped I’d be back,” said O’Neill.
“One of the things about being an international manager at a relatively young age is that it gives you the chance to come back. Look at Louis van Gaal, he has come back three times.
“I think when you have done this job it is feasible to come back and do it again. It is not really like returning to a club. When I left for Stoke, I think the important thing as a manager is to do the job that is in front of you rather than look too far ahead.
“I possibly felt like I would be in club football a bit longer, but having had that experience in the Championship and experienced the nature of that I wanted something, that was probably a little bit more consistent with the opportunity to build something again.
“So when the vacancy was here it was my preference as opposed to staying in the club game.”
When O’Neill first took over at Stoke in November 2019, the plan was for him to still stay on and lead Northern Ireland into their Euro 2020 play-off semi final.
However, Covid-19 meant that play-off was delayed and he departed in April 2020, leaving Baraclough to lead the side for what was ultimately a play-off final defeat by Slovakia.
The former Coventry City and Newcastle United winger, who has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with the Irish FA (IFA) which he said he intends to see out, admitted that remains a ‘what if?’ moment for him.
“Yes, because it was a big factor at the time to take the Stoke job, that I would be able to take that [play-off] game,” continued O’Neill, who will retain former NI international Jimmy Nicholl on his coaching staff.
“It was an opportunity, more so for the players, and I think that having spoken to Jonny [Evans] and Steven [Davis], they felt it was an opportunity that passed them by a little bit.
“But the good thing now is that their focus will be on making amends for that going forward.”
Potential for Hughes and McAuley to join coaching team
Those conversations with senior players in the current squad who played for O’Neill previously – such as captain Davis, Evans and Stuart Dallas – were another important factor, he revealed, in taking the job.
“A big thing for me was the conversations I had with the players,” added O’Neill.
“In 2018 I had a conversation with Steven [Davis], that was a big factor in me signing a new contract with the IFA as opposed to going to the Scottish FA. I turned down a couple of opportunities at that point as well.
“Throughout that period, in those eight years, there were opportunities to leave but when I did leave I felt it was the right time, and I made those decisions on the right basis – in the same way that I have made this decision on the right basis to come back.”
Looking ahead, the former Shamrock Rovers boss said having conversations with all the players in the squad, and assembling his new coaching team, are his immediate priorities.
And, while he stressed he hasn’t spoken to either about the possibility as yet, he did hint at the possibility of two of his former players – Aaron Hughes and Gareth McAuley – being involved.
Both were hugely popular stalwarts as players, with ex-captain Hughes recently appointed as the Irish FA’s technical director and McAuley currently coaching the Northern Ireland Under 19 and Under 17 squads.
“I just need to see where those lads [Hughes and McAuley] are in the coaching scale, what their vision is and what their objectives are at this moment in time,” he explained.
“I think it is important to have good people around the players and the staff so those are all conversations that need to be had – but I can’t say at this moment in time whether it is the right thing or not.”
O’Neill wants to ‘reignite belief in qualification’
O’Neill followed qualification for Euro 2016 with a stellar World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign that only failed in an agonising play-off defeat by Switzerland.
The success the side achieved under him from 2014 until he left, particularly the number of games the team won at Windsor Park, made him the resounding favourite among Northern Ireland supporters to replace Barraclough.
O’Neill changed the mindset of supporters and players during his first spell and explained that injecting belief into the current squad will help them take advantage of a favourable Euro 2024 qualifying group that will see them face Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan and San Marino.
“After my first campaign [World Cup 2014 qualifying], I had to show the players that they could qualify because I didn’t think they believed that they could,” he explained.
“I showed them all the groups and said ‘this is what you are going to have to do’. You always feel that you are further away than what you were.
“I think it is a mindset change from the players because we then started to see a group of players that could win games late and win games from being behind, things they didn’t always do.
“Hopefully, a lot of that still remains. It might need to be reignited a little bit but, yes, you have got to deliver them a vision and a pathway – and they have got to believe in it.”
Given the clamour for his appointment, O’Neill acknowledges that expectation levels have been raised – but insisted he is comfortable with that.
“Expectation is a good thing, and for too long we didn’t have it,” he said. “I think that takes the edge off the players when it isn’t there.
“I remember having as frank a meeting as you could have with all players prior to going into the Euro 2016 qualifiers, and basically saying we are not just here to gather caps.”
