ENGLISH CLUBS HAVE NO APPEAL – O’NEILL

THE prospect of being a club manager in English football i s l ess enticing than it once was, according to Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill as he prepares for the Province’s home World Cup qualifier against Norway on Sunday.

O’Neill cropped up as a possible candidate for the Leicester vacancy when the Premier League champions axed Claudio Ranieri last month only for the Foxes to appoint Craig Shakespeare until at least the end of the season.

Having led his country to the last 16 at Euro 2016, O’Neill’s stock remains high even if any suitors would need to prise him away from an Irish Football Association contract that runs until 2020.

“Football’s more volatile now than it’s ever been,” he said.

“Everyone always thinks the next step for a manager in my position is to go into club football in England and that may not be the case.The game’s a lot more global now. Look at the tenure of a club manager in England and it’s maybe not as appealing as it was.

“You never know how someone evaluates what you do, the ownership model at clubs is very different from what it was. It would be foolhardy of me to wish my career away thinking ‘I wish I had that job, this job’. I don’t think like that.

“I’m five years in this job. I’m focused on the games now and in June and the prize, hopefully, of getting to Russia.”