MON OF A NEW ERA

Northern Ireland boss ready to bring his bright new stars into the fold as busy 2018 game programme begins

YOU’D have got decent odds before Christmas that Michael O’neill would be fronting up a Northern Ireland pre-match briefing come the end of March.

Most onlookers expected the 48-year-old to be preparing the likes of Charlie Mulgrew and Scott Mctominay for Scotland’s friendly with Costa Rica in Glasgow last night.

Yet there he sat yesterday lunchtime – as focused and articulate as ever – in front of an IFA backboard ahead of today’s intriguing friendly with South Korea.

While Oliver Norwood, who sat alongside him, embodies a battle hardened core of a squad that played at the Euro finals in France, it also feels like a new cycle for both manager and players.

O’neill, who marked six years in charge in January, recently signed a contract extension until 2024 when most neutrals feared he would fall into the arms of the Scottish FA.

He has also injected a number of new faces into his squad in recent times – George Saville and Jordan Jones have impressed – while Norwich City’s Jamal Lewis is set to make his debut.

QPR winger Paul Smyth and Everton youngster Shayne Lavery – who starred for the U21s against Spain on Thursday night – have also been added to today’s panel.

So does it feel as if the reset or reboot button is being partially pushed at the start of a new year?

Does he agree with Norwood that Northern Ireland are ready to build on what has gone before with the new Nations League and Euro 2020 qualifiers lurking on the horizon?

“Of course, no one wants to go back – that’s the message we’ve hammered home,” said O’neill, whose last games at the helm were November’s painful World Cup play-off ties with the Swiss.

“The squad is good, it’s fresh and there are a lot of positives. We are looking for a good performance and also want to get the disappointment of Switzerland out of the way.

“South Korea are a good challenge but this is all a part of the learning curve for our players, particularly the new ones. We have nine games this year and they are vital going into the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.”

Northern Ireland are staring at a busy 2018, a schedule that includes four Nations League fixtures against Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina in September,

October and

November.

With a summer tour to

Panama and

Costa Rica and further friendlies against

Israel (September 11) and the Republic of Ireland (November

15), O’neill won’t be afraid to experiment.

He said: “There may be times in these next nine games where we have little setbacks but the key is to get experience into the team. “We have limited resources and we can’t expect young players to suddenly come in and just be established international players. We have to give them time.

“The balance of the team in my head, half of it is relatively inexperienced and the other half has good experience at this level. “We want players to come through but we also want them to play for as long as possible.

“It’s a huge plus to still have Gareth Mcauley and Aaron Hughes (below) available to us.

“It’d also be a great boost if Chris Brunt decides to play on. The likes of Paddy Mcnair are also back in the group and hungry to do well.”

South Korea coach Shin-tae-yong said: “Northern Ireland only conceded six goals in 10 games in the World Cup qualifiers, so we want to see how we can counter this strong defence.”