O’Neill is set for contract discussions with Irish FA

MICHAEL O’NEILL is scheduled to hold contract talks with the Irish FA today as Northern Ireland step up their bid to keep him out of Scotland’s clutches. The 48-year-old is SFA chief executive Stewart Regan’s preferred candidate to replace Gordon Strachan. However, formal negotiations will only open if a £500,000 compensation clause in O’Neill’s contract is met. With that yet to happen, the IFA hope to steal a march on their Scots counterparts at Hampden by persuading their manager to stick with the country that he led to Euro 2016. They are tabling a new six-year contract for O’Neill — thought to be worth in excess of £600,000-per-year plus bonuses.

Sportsmail understands a first round of discussions over that proposal is due to take place today, with more likely to follow. Speaking earlier this week, O’Neill said: ‘I’m going to be speaking to the IFA regarding the contract extension they have indicated they would like to give me. ‘That’s where it lies at the moment.’ His current £500,000-peryear deal with the IFA runs until 2020 and stipulates different levels of compensation depending on the type of suitor. Asked about the Scotland interest, O’Neill said: ‘That’s just speculation. It’s not been driven by me saying I want the Scotland job. ‘If Scotland go forward they have to agree something with the IFA and that hasn’t been done as far as I know.’