O’NEILL’S IRISH PLEDGE

MICHAEL O’NEILL will sign a new bumper £700,000-ayear contract which will keep him as Northern Ireland boss until 2024.

O’Neill (right) admitted it was a “difficult decision” to reject Scotland but Northern Ireland have given him a big pay rise. O’Neill, whose side were drawn with Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the UEFA Nations League draw, said: “It was a very difficult decision because I live in Scotland, but I am Northern Irish.”