A ’CLOUGH CALL BUT CORRECT
Mcauley backing Under-21 boss Ian to make a successful step up
GARETH MCAULEY insists new Northern Ireland boss Ian Baraclough has the strength of personality and coaching prowess to follow in the footsteps of Michael O’neill.
Former Sligo Rovers boss Baraclough, who pipped the likes of Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson and Tommy Wright to the post, has been recruited on an 18-month contract.
And Irish FA chiefs are hoping for a smooth transition after opting to promote their Leicesterborn Under-21 coach into the senior role.
Former West Brom titan Mcauley (inset), who got to know Baraclough before retiring from national duty 12 months ago, believes it’s a “positive appointment”.
He also says the IFA were right to plump for “continuity” with Northern Ireland just two wins away from reaching next year’s rescheduled Euro 2020 finals. “I sort of foresaw this coming knowing how the IFA were thinking and the buzzword being ‘continuity’,” he said. “If you go off-piste and put in a big name manager who goes in and upsets the apple cart and makes loads of changes, it’s not going to work – especially with this group of players, how they think and the philosophies that have been instilled in them in recent years.
“Ian is a different man (to O’neill) and over time he’ll want to put his own stamp on it but he has all the tools to make a big success of it.”
While Baraclough has a lower profile than the likes of Robinson and Wright, Mcauley believes that the 49-year-old will be hell bent on enhancing his reputation.
“When he was around the squad and I sat down and spoke with him, he’s a football person and passionate about the game,” he told Radio Ulster.
“When he stepped up and worked with the senior squad, the lads all liked his sessions, his demeanour and how he spoke to people. For me it’s a positive appointment.”
One advantage
Baraclough had over the other candidates is the fact he was part of O’neill’s backroom plans for the original Euro play-off date in Bosnia in March.
The tie, twice postponed because of coronavirus, is now on October 8 with the winners hosting Slovakia or the Republic of Ireland in a final shootout in November.
“Ian has done a lot of preparation for the Bosnia game which is massive for us,” said Mcauley. “I think that tipped the scales in his favour and I think the appointment is one the players in the squad will have welcomed.”
Baraclough himself said: “Hopefully we can make sure we carry on that upward trend Northern Ireland has been on for the last six or so years.
“We can look to October and the play-off with Bosnia and go into that game with as much preparation as possible. There’s a good blend of experience and players who still have a hunger to go and achieve even more.”