O’neill is happy to be fall guy

MICHAEL O’NEILL insists he won’t lose sleep if his evolving Northern Ireland side is relegated into the third tier of the Nations League.

Friday’s 1-0 defeat in Austria has left the Green and White Army bottom of Group B3, heading into tomorrow’s clash with pool leaders Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

But, while O’neill (above) is keen to pick up points in UEFA’S new-look competition, his main focus is on developing his squad ahead of the Euro 2020 qualifiers in March.

Bedding the likes of Bailey Peacockfarrell (below) and Jamal Lewis into his starting XI for another crack at the Euro finals is more important than the here and now.

“We are using this to prepare for next March,” said O’neill.

“If we go through the Nations League and people say we are relegated, I’m not going to have sleepless nights over that.

“I have to try to develop the team and introduce new players into the team. The only way to do that is to test them against this quality of opposition.

“We have young players and this is a tough level to be playing at in European football.

“But, if you look at our two games, we were narrowly beaten in Vienna and we could and should have taken something from the game.

“We also should have beaten Bosnia in Belfast last month.

“We have come out on the wrong side of two results and I think it has been a little bit harsh on us.”

Bosnia know a win tomorrow would virtually guarantee top spot and promotion to the top tier of the Nations League for its next edition in 2020.

O’neill is without Wigan’s Will Grigg (hamstring), but hoping Liam Boyce boosts his striking options by recovering from a knee problem.

O’neill added: “Bosnia are sitting in a very strong position.

“They will be waiting in Sarajevo, knowing if they beat us, it is going to be very difficult for them not to win this group. That’s a nice position for them to be in.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge for us and we’ve got to try to inject a little bit of freshness into the team.”