The Scottish Mail on Sunday

SFA must be ready to approach O’Neill in event of Irish failure

-

ON the subject of institutio­ns that appear to lack a certain sense of purpose, one thing, at least, looks likely to become clearer for the Scottish FA this evening.

Unless there is a minor miracle on the cards, Northern Ireland will be knocked out of the World Cup play-offs by 7pm thanks, in no small part, to the scandalous penalty decision that resulted in a one-goal win for Switzerlan­d at Windsor Park in Thursday night’s first leg.

One quick call to Michael O’Neill and his people to see if he really fancies a crack at the Euros with Scotland ought to bring a little clarity to the search for a successor to Gordon Strachan, following a most awkward few days.

There is not much more to be said about Malky Mackay discoverin­g via the media that Stewart Regan had ruled him out of contention for the manager’s job before his team had even kicked a ball against Holland in midweek. Let’s just pray that the chief executive and the performanc­e director are a little more in sync when it comes to the small matter of rebuilding the entire system and culture of youth football from the bottom up. In any case, O’Neill (left) remains the outstandin­g candidate for the Scotland job. He has to be approached one way or another. Maybe his estimated £500,000a-year contract with the Irish FA will be too pricey to match. Perhaps he feels there is unfinished business with Northern Ireland despite the fact his most important players are reaching the end of their internatio­nal careers.

He may have another more appealing offer from elsewhere. My own suspicion, though, is that he might well be up for it.

It is unthinkabl­e that O’Neill would not be on the list of potential targets. When we know where he stands, we can get on with making a decision.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom