O’Neill: Irish players want me to stay

MARTIN O’NEILL has dismissed the notion that his flirtation with Stoke could have any impact on his standing with Ireland’s players.

And he believes they will be happy that he has turned them down and instead opted to stick around to lead the Irish attempt to make Euro 2020.

O’Neill feels it should be taken as a compliment that a Premier League club wanted his services and, as he broke his silence on the saga over his future, the Irish boss mounted a strong defence of his tenure.

He said the interest from Stoke and other clubs was a reflection of the good work he has done since taking over in 2013.

The Derryman disputes the idea that the Irish dressing-room will have been unsettled by the speculation.

“A manager’s tenure at club level is very short and gets shorter as the time goes on,” says O’Neill.

“The players get used to that type of thing but the main thing about the players here, the players want to play for the Republic of Ireland, that’s the number one.

“It doesn’t matter who the coach or manager would be.

“I think the players would be delighted that I’m staying on.

“I think that the fact that people do actually want your services, I think it might be a compliment to the particular job that I’ve done with the Republic of Ireland.”

O’Neill stressed that he ‘wasn’t breaking any rules’ by holding talks with Stoke because of his understanding with the FAI.

IN-DEMAND Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill has asserted that the actions of the IFA in the aftermath of his country’s World Cup play-off defeat to Switzerland in November helped to persuade him to stay.

O’Neill (right) has rejected the opportunity to become the new manager of Scotland after holding discussions with the SFA last week.

His current employers offered the ex-Shamrock

Rovers boss a new contract in the hours after their controversial loss to the Swiss – and it’s believed they were willing to pay more than the Scots.

The Portadown native ultimately decided to stay put with a view to making Euro 2020. “I’ve had approaches from clubs as well, and the ongoing situation with Scotland,” said O’Neill. “But the IFA have been fantastic. They came to me basically straight after the game in Switzerland and offered me an extension. I had a lot of discussions with the senior players. I think it was important they felt it was right.”