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MIKE’S NO TO SFA MEANS HE CAN BUILD ON LEGACY

KEEPING Michael O’neill is a massive boost for the Irish FA - and an embarrassing snub for Scottish FA chief Stewart Regan.

Yes it may have taken an eyewatering £700,000-a-year contract – and a four-year extension to 2024 – to help keep O’neill from Scotland’s grasp.

But the value of retaining the 48-year-old at the heart of Northern Ireland football for the foreseeable future is incalculable.

Many feared O’neill, who marked six years in the post earlier this month, would leave following November’s World Cup play-off defeat to Switzerland.

Privately, some suspected it was only a matter of time – that his departure to become Gordon Strachan’s successor would be choreographed and rubberstamped over the New Year period.

Thursday’s productive meeting in Glasgow between O’neill and SFA chief executive Regan (inset) heightened concerns that Scotland would get their man. But while the SFA were willing to make their No1 target the Tartan Army’s highest paid manager, O’neill was wrestling with the pros and cons.

The prospect of taking Scotland to Euro 2020 and their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup appealed to the ambitious side of his personality.

He would have backed himself to squeeze more out of a larger pool of

Scottish players and enhance his reputation in the process. Yet nagging doubts persisted – and grew in recent days – for both professional and personal reasons.

O’neill values his relationship with the IFA and was hugely impressed by the way local chiefs conducted themselves in recent weeks and the commitment they showed by tabling a new contract.

He also values the close bond he has cultivated with Northern Ireland’s players, including the likes of captain Steven Davis and West Brom’s Jonny Evans. How could he look them in the eye if he opted to leave for another home nation? A club job yes but Scotland? It didn’t sit easy with senior players.

O’neill also values the fact he can effectively escape the scrutiny and spotlight of life as Northern Ireland manager when he returns to Edinburgh. As things stand, he enjoys relative anonymity in the Scottish capital. Going out for a meal with family and friends remains a relaxing affair. In the demanding days after a dispiriting result – or historic win – he can leave the media frenzy behind. That would change as Scotland manager. The spotlight would be searingly intense, something that became apparent in recent weeks. Hard-hitting newspaper columns and articles openly questioned his coaching credentials and name checked his wife and daughters stood as a warning of things to come. Add in a lesser salary from the SFA at £600,000-a-year and the fact some former Scotland players questioned handing him a fouryear deal and the chips started to stack in the IFA’S favour.

One source said: “Michael felt wanted by the IFA. They have effectively given him the keys to the house in terms of youth development and the future of the game. He values that level of control and the SFA would have struggled to match that. Also don’t rule out the personal aspect. Michael values the relative privacy his family enjoys in Edinburgh. That would change as Scotland manager.”

In the end, it simply didn’t add up.

And things now point to O’neill posing with a new IFA contract later this week.