Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
O’Neill ignores Scotland talk
NORTHERN Ireland manager Michael O’Neill attempted t o quell t he clamour for him to become the next Scotland boss by suggesting he had given little thought to possibly succeeding Gordon Strachan.
Although t here i s no current vacancy north of the border, a disappointing start to the Scots’ World Cup qualifying campaign has ramped up the pressure on Strachan and l ed to pundits considering who should assume the reins were the current manager to move on.
Edinburgh-based O’Neill has already emerged as a popular choice i n the Scottish press due to the job he has done in transforming Nor thern Ireland from minnows with one win in his first 18, to Euro 2016 par ticipants currently defending a 10-game home unbeaten streak.
O’Neill penned a fouryear contract extension in March and his team have made a fine start in their own bid to reach Russia in two years’ time, though the Northern Irish boss chose his words carefully when the prospect of the Scottish job was put to him.
Asked if Northern Ireland fans should be concerned by the link, O’Neill replied: “No, I don’t think so.
“F i rs t o f a l l , t h e r e ’s someone in that job who I have a huge amount of respect for, who is a manager I played under (at Coventry).
“It’s probably the fact I live in Scotland is a bigger driving factor of that than anything else. I haven’t given a second thought to that at all. I’d rather not give a comment on that situation at the minute to be fair.”
O’Neill will take charge of Northern Ireland’s 13th and final match of the calendar year when a depleted Croatia side visit Windsor Park tonight.
The likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Dejan Lovren are all missing from the visitors’ ranks, while O’Neill could hand Niall McGinn his 50th cap.