O’Neill out to enjoy shared success with his old gaffer
FOR Michael O’Neill, working under Gordon Strachan in the English top flight was a bittersweet experience. In f act, at Coventry City, the midfielder found the experience of being an inferior player to a manager in his early 40s about as palatable as Strachan’s famed longevity-fuelling concoction of porridge, bananas and seaweed.
If O’Neill’s injury- scarred spell at Highfield Road was not the most notable of an otherwise successful career, the Northern Ireland manager retains a high regard for his Scotland counterpart and hopes the pair can soon share success i n the international arena.
Scotland have not qualified for a major tournament since France 98, while Northern Ireland have not been seen at a Finals since the days when Brazil’s Josimar rocketed one of the all-time great World Cup goals past Pat Jennings.
But, on the road to France 2016, Scotland are third in Group D, while Northern Ireland are second in Group F. As the two nations face off in a friendly at Hampden tonight, O’Neill hopes both men can lead their respective countries out of the international wilderness.
‘I played under Gordon at Coventry — it’s always a concern when the manager is a better player than you,’ quipped the 45-year-old former Dundee United and Hibernian midfielder yesterday.
‘Other than that it was fine. It was a bit unfortunate that injury thwarted my opportunity at Coventry but it was evident back then what type of manager Gordon was going to be.
‘He had the ability to motivate and to invigorate. He knew how to get players to respond to him. So it doesn’t surprise me how well he has done with Scotland.
‘He was a great appointment and exactly what Scotland needed at that time.
‘ It’ s pretty evident the improvement they have made under Gordon.
‘And having played half my career up here, it would be good to see both countries qualify for the Euros.
‘We’ve been nearly 30 years away from a major tournament. Scotland haven’t quite had that to deal with — but I’d love to see both countries do it.’
For Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis, a return to Hampden tonight will bring back fond memories of his last appearance i n Mount Florida.
Back in March 2011, he scored the opening goal as Rangers beat Celtic 2-1 in extra time to lift the League Cup — the club’s last major trophy before administration then l i quidation visited Ibrox and leading players including Davis quit.
‘ It will be nice to be back at Hampden,’ said the 30- year- old Southampton midfielder.
‘It holds special memories for me. We had a lot of success there with Rangers but my l ast game, the League Cup Final, stands out.
‘ Celtic were al ways ki nd of favourites before we went into any Old Firm game and they had the upper hand before that game.
‘But I scored a goal and we won the cup that day.
‘I was lucky to have four years at Rangers and it was disappointing how it ended. That was the hardest thing to take.
‘But I’ll always look back on it as one of the most important and enjoyable periods in my career.
‘It’s a bit of an impossible subject to talk about (leaving) because you’re never going t o please everybody with what you say.
‘But the honesty of it is we could only try and make a decision based on what we thought was best at the time and you have to live by that.’
As he turns back the clock by returning to Glasgow, however, Davis feels the future is bright now that Ibrox is back in the ownership of ‘Rangers men’ like Dave King and Paul Murray.
And the former Rangers captain, who played in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final with the Ibrox side, hopes the hiring of nine-in-a-row idol Stuart McCall can kick- start a Rangers revival back towards past glories. ‘I think (the boardroom change) is positive for the club,’ he said. ‘For any fan, it’s nice to see people in charge who have the best interests of the club at heart.
‘We all knew it was going to be a difficult period but nobody could have foreseen just how hard it was going to be. ‘But I think Stuart McCall is going to be a good appointment. It was great to see him get that first win on Sunday at Hibs. Hopefully they can build on that and get even stronger. ‘ Would I ever go back to Rangers? In football you never know. But it’s a club I look back on fondly and if the opportunity arose i t would be something I’d have to consider.’