O’Neill call sends right message...

IT’S common practice these days for a new manager to watch his side’s first game from the stands.

In many ways, it makes a lot of sense. If the newcomer is coming in from outside at short notice, he may well not have time to get his message across.

Far better to leave it to the caretakers to take charge one final time, view the game from on high and get a stress-free view of what your new team are really like.

It’s fine if the new boss wants to play it that way. But it shows a bit more gumption if you decide to take charge immediately.

So, well played to new Stoke manager Michael O’Neill. Appointed on Friday, he decided a watching brief wasn’t for him at Barnsley yesterday.

Speaking on the day he was named manager, he said: “I felt I could possibly come and let the backroom staff who are currently in place take the game as they did on Monday night but I think it’s too important a game to do that.

“It’s important that I’m hands on and not a bystander looking in.”

It was sending out the right message straightaway – I’m here, I mean business and I’m going to get on with it.

The fact Stoke responded with a stunning 4-2 victory at Oakwell yesterday may not have been wholly down to O’Neill, but it’s surely not a coincidence that the Potters raised their game.

It would have been even easier for O’Neill to have given the Barnsley game a swerve bearing in mind that he is going to be in charge for Northern Ireland’s forthcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Holland and Germany.

That’s a somewhat strange situation, but you get the feeling O’Neill has the ability and flexibility to deal with it.

And when he returns to the bet365 Stadium, he’ll be eager to build on yesterday’s positive start.