O’Neill out to boss it his way

NORTHERN IRELAND boss Michael O’Neill says he has not taken a leap into club management in England – because it is a disaster zone.

He has been told horror stories about a lack of communication with owners and virtually no job security.

On Friday O’Neill signed a new long-term contract until 2024 with the IFA worth £4.5million in total after turning down the chance to manage Scotland.

Back in November he rejected Sunderland’s advances, held talks with West Brom before Alan Pardew was appointed and previously attracted interest from Celtic, Leicester and Norwich due to his success at international level taking Northern Ireland to the Euro 2016 finals.

The man from Portadown insists, however, that right now club management is not for him.

He said: “The thing about the English game is that you don’t actually know who you work for a lot of the time.

“I speak to loads of good bosses who have been in and out of work and they tell me, ‘It was an absolute disaster, I basically couldn’t manage the club, I had no communication with the owner, I had no communication with the technical director’, so you have to be very, very careful when you make that move into club management.

“I have spoken to a number of clubs and I’ve never felt compelled to make that decision over the job that I have.

“At a club, and most managers will tell you, the higher up you are, you are working on six-game cycle, and that’s not really management of a club. I like to have a strategy and build and my current job gives me that.”

O’Neill (above) added that he was ‘surprised’ his captain Steven Davis has been in and out of the Southampton side lately given their struggles.

“I am surprised, but I’m not going to criticise another manager’s team selection,” said O’Neill.

“Like every club manager Pellegrino will feel under pressure to keep Southampton in a position they are used to being in.”