Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
The person who takes Michael’s place has got some MASSIVE shoes to fill
IFA CHIEF MARTIN’S TRIBUTE TO ‘ALL TIME GREAT’ O’NEILL
MICHAEL O’NEILL’S successor when appointed will be walking in the footsteps of one of the greatest Northern Ireland managers of all time.
That’s the view of Irish FA President David Martin who says O’neill, who stepped down as national boss five weeks ago, gifted local football a legacy to be proud of.
Local football’s leading administrator also believes the 50-year-old, who was appointed Stoke boss in November, was central to restoring our reputation at home and abroad.
“Michael will be remembered as one of our all time greats – no doubt about that,” he said. “He was fantastic for us and will have legendary status in years to come.
“He transformed the fortunes of the team, but he was more than a manager. He had a massive input off the pitch and in the development of our youth structures.”
Many onlookers chuckled in derision when in 2013 the Irish FA’S five-year strategy set out an objective of qualifying for a major tournament before 2018.
It had, after all, been almost three decades and 14 finals since Northern Ireland’s last outing on a global stage at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
But O’neill, who was also a steady hand at the tiller during the redevelopment of Windsor Park, silenced the cynics.
“When the IFA set out that strategy in 2013, two of the main objectives were to build a new stadium and qualify for a major tournament,” said Martin.
“Michael proved central to seeing us through the transition of the stadium into a modern venue and also qualifying for the Euro 2016 finals. That was lift-off for us.
“In the 2017 five year strategy, we later set our stall out to challenge to qualify for every major tournament and again Michael stepped up.
“He took us to within an ace of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup via the play-offs and has also left us in a strong positon and another play-off for Euro 2020.”
Martin, who followed Northern Ireland to the 1982 and 1986 World Cups in Spain and Mexico, feared he may never see the team perform at another major tournament.
“I was privileged to be at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and have fond memories of watching us play in Valencia, Madrid and Guadalajara,” he said.
“The 1980s were a memorable time for Northern Ireland because as well as featuring at two World Cups we won two British Championships in 1980 and 1984.
“We did go close to qualifying for Euro 96 and had some big results under Lawrie Sanchez, but I probably struggled to see us getting back to another finals. Michael changed that.”
The Irish FA hopes face-to-face interviews can be conducted with potential candidates for the vacant job with an appointment likely before August.
Former St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright (right), Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson and under-21s coach Ian Baraclough are currently frontrunners for the post.