MICK TAKERS
SFA approach NI boss O’Neill to fill hotseat
OH to be a fly on the wall when Michael O’Neill, sometime in the very near future, sits down opposite the SFA party headed by Stewart Regan.
What can be guaranteed is that the most stringent of interviews is going to take place. No stone unturned, every question will insist on a concise answer and the interviewee better have all facts, figure and the rest at their fingertips. Or O’Neill will walk away. Make no mistake; the one who will be asking the big questions will be the Northern Irishman. He is going to interview the SFA. It won’t be the other way around.
It is now obvious Regan and his cohorts view the current Northern Ireland manager as the one, the saviour, who can reverse the fortunes of the Scotland international team.
If they are right, if the 48-year-old from Portadown is indeed the manager to take our country to the European Championship in 2020, then they better not blow it.
Perhaps not since Walter Smith in 2004 has a potential Scotland manager held as much sway when entering i nto such talks.
O’Neill has options, although he won’t go near Sunderland, and so for him to move from his native to adopted country, certain assurances must be given to him.
O’Neill is happy to at least have an informal chat when he will size up what he’s letting himself in for. And don’t for a moment think his only concerns will be about what the best eleven is or whether Scott Brown is going to retire again.
Regan and the rest will be asked about their future plans, and the solutions better meet the immovable high standards of their first-choice candidate.
If the job does appeal, his remit, in his own eyes, won’t only be the senior team.
He will demand to know everything there is to know about the youth development all the way down the ranks.
The much talked about and little understood Project Brave shall be picked over. There is every chance O’Neill and Malky Mackay would have to meet before any hand is shaken.
He wants a four-year deal, the IFA are willing to offer an improved contract beyond 2020 when his current one comes to an end, and his own backroom staff, which will include Hearts assistant Austin MacPhee.
O’Neill, who lives in Edinburgh, likes the idea of being Scotland manager. However, he will do his homework and if his potential employees don’t fulfil the required criteria, the SFA may have to turn to someone else, with Paul Lambert second on their wanted list.
HERE is a story I heard about how he managed Kyle Lafferty – not the easist character to coach – during the successful 2016 European Championship campaign.
Before every game, O’Neill would place a tablet in his striker’s hands and make him watch footage, no longer than a couple of minutes, of his better moments. This simple psychology worked wonders. Lafferty rewarded his manager with goals and selflessness in play.
His attention to detail is second to none. Indeed, in an interview with this newspaper, Jimmy Nicholl, who is O’Neill’s right-hand man, spoke of the forensic work put in on opponents, with MacPhee playing a huge part of this side of things.
What’s more, he brought people together.
“Let’s say Catholics, for whatever reason, previously didn’t want to go to Windsor Park because it’s where Linfield play and all the other stuff, and so if more want to come to our games because they now feel part of it then that’s brilliant,” said Nicholl.
“Both sides of the divide can see what’s happening is great. Michael is doing his best to bring everyone with us. If we can fill Windsor Park when it is redeveloped with 22,000 at every game, and from every community, that would be wonderful. It’s what we want to see.”
Just because he once took one small country with limited resources to a European Championship, and was done out of a World Cup by a dreadful refereeing decision, doesn’t mean he can do the same for Scotland.
However, O’Neill is a miracle worker. And he’s exactly what we need.