Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Sympathy for Robbo
A JOCULAR aside from Michael O’neill was enough to make Ian Baraclough think seriously about stepping into the former Northern Ireland manager’s shoes at Windsor Park.
Baraclough, appointed by the Irish FA on an 18-month contract at the weekend, was set to shadow O’neill for March’s ill-fated Euro 2020 play-off in Bosnia.
Both men have similar football psyches, enjoyed a close relationship and worked well together after the Englishman’s appointment as Under-21s coach in 2017.
It was during one light-hearted conversation a few months back that gave Baraclough pause for thought on his future ambitions.
Asked if he thought he had been ‘groomed’ for the senior role prior to O’neill’s departure in April, the former QPR defender said: “It’s not something I ever took for granted.
“Probably on a couple of occasions I spoke to Michael, I thought he was joking at times but he was saying, ‘Are you ready, you’d better get yourself ready’. It was only taken with a bit of light-heartedness. I didn’t have the expectation to be Michael’s successor but when I got asked to interview I took it very seriously.
“I was pleasantly surprised to be appointed and when I received the call from IFA CEO Patrick Nelson, I was delighted.”
Baraclough accepts “continuity” is key with Northern Ireland just two games away from reaching next year’s postponed Euro finals.
But the former Sligo Rovers and Motherwell boss is also aware that he’ll have to step out of O’neill’s shadow in the months ahead.
Being a tribute act won’t cut it if he is to build his own legacy and extend a modest sized 18-month contract beyond the end of the 2022 World Cup campaign.
“I’ve never tried to imitate anybody,” he said. “Michael also told me, ‘You’ve got to be your own man’.
“It would be wrong not to take elements of Michael’s work but it’ll certainly be my personality and how I like to work. The players won’t find things too dissimilar – I like detail and players knowing exactly what their role is. I also like to open the floor. Everyone has got a voice. You might be the youngest in the squad
but if you’ve got a point to make it should be heard.”
O’neill showed real faith in Baraclough when he integrated him into the senior set-up after impressing with the U21s.
The 49-year-old took sessions with the senior squad and was intimately involved in the initial preparation for the Bosnian game which has been rescheduled for October 8.
“To be someone he trusted to go to Bosnia and look at hotels, training facilities, the ground and so on, he showed great faith in me,” he said.
“Getting more heavily involved with the senior set-up also allowed me to see the players first hand and speak to them about what they expected in Bosnia.”
Baraclough knows former boss O’neill – who famously reached the knockout stages of Euro 2016 – will be a tough act to follow.
Like all high profile successions, the task ahead is laced with opportunity and risk. “I think we’re still on an upward curve and it’s my time to take the reins and hopefully continue that,” he said.
“There might be little tweaks but for me continuity is something that is so important and that means what it says. Continue doing the things that have served us well and
try to build on them.”
NEW boss Ian Baraclough would have been happy for Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson had he landed the job.
Baraclough was up against his good pal as well as Tommy Wright, Kenny Shiels and Jim Magilton.
He said: “I tried calling Robbo and he called me back and said he couldn’t be happier for me, which was nice to hear.
“We’ve had a friendship, worked together and both of us wanted the job. It was something if he was to get it, I’d have been pleased for him and vice versa.
“I was up against a strong panel of managers and coaches who would be given respect for what they have achieved. To be chosen ahead of them, I was pleasantly surprised.”