O’NEILL IS TRYING TO THROW IT FORWARD

MICHAEL O’NEILL is dragging Stoke City up the Championship table – not inch-by-inch but throw-in by throw-in.

The former Northern Ireland boss is plotting the Potters’ escape from danger by zeroing in on what might seem a tiny detail to many.

Stoke were sitting bottom of the pile when O’Neill (below) succeeded Nathan Jones four months ago.

And while they aren’t entirely free of trouble near the bottom, their plight is far less serious than it was when he walked through the door at the bet365 Stadium.

He said: “I have looked at throw-ins and, very particularly, retaining possession from them.

“In themselves they are small things but if you improve in those areas then they can add up.

“If you look at it from a statistics point of view, you will get a throw-in somewhere between 20 to 25 times.

“So there are around 25 occasions when you are going to keep possession – or lose it.

“If you look at it like that, there could be an extra 100 passes that you have in a game if you retain possession.

“If you can exploit teams on their defensive throw-ins, it gives you an opportunity to press.

“For example, we were not happy the other week when we played Millwall.

“Their only chance of the entire 90 minutes came from our throw-in.

“When we played Huddersfield, the free-kick for the second goal they scored came from our throw.

“Now, if you can improve in those areas...”

This type of improvement is nothing new to O’Neill – he introduced it during his time with Northern Ireland.

He added: “Against the better teams you can’t squander the ball but, for example, against the Germans and Dutch if you press in their defensive third it gives you the opportunity to go and win the ball further up.”