“I think I’m a better manager – but you will obviously have an opinion on that down the line.”
As he was at his unveiling in December, Michael O’Neill seemed jovial and relaxed at the announcement of his first squad selection since becoming Northern Ireland manager for the second time.
Already assured of a place in the country’s footballing history after guiding them on a joyous journey to the Euro 2016 finals in France during his first spell in charge, ‘O’Neill 2.0’ will become fully activated when the players gather later this month for the opening double-header of the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
And, amid light-hearted moments with a media pack he is familiar with, the 53-year-old once again showed the studiousness, determination and attention-to-detail that were among the hallmarks of his successful eight-year tenure that came to an end in 2020.
None more so than when asked if he had changed as a manager during three years in charge of Stoke City before his sacking by the Championship club in August.
“You evolve as a manager, that’s natural. I’m a different manager than the one that left here three and a half years ago,” he explained.
“You look at how you prepare the team, always. I have developed slightly different ways of working from what I did the first time round. If I didn’t, I would be at risk of being labelled a dinosaur, which I don’t want to be.
“I think there’s a constant evolvement as a coach in how you present information and analysis to players, how you link it and how you work on the pitch with them, all of those things.
“We have to go in and play an international game with three days of preparation and that’s a challenge, particularly as a number of players in this squad haven’t played under me before. We can’t afford not to get things right. Our preparations need to be 100% right.
“We have appointed Matthew Crawford as a performance analyst to work with the squad as well. There are a lot of things that we have added to the squad that I think will equip us well for the campaign ahead.”
O’Neill not envisaging any ‘drastic curveballs’
O’Neill seemed comfortable in December to discuss the possibility of former NI stalwarts Aaron Hughes and Gareth McAuley joining his coaching team, but there has been no update since, though he did suggest on Tuesday that an announcement on his coaching staff could be imminent.
He wasted little time in getting to work immediately after his appointment before Christmas and believes his familiarity with, and understanding of, the dynamics of international management have significantly helped him settle back into the role.
“You’re a one-man band as an international manager. I don’t have full-time staff that work with me but I am working very closely with Aaron [Hughes] in his role as [the IFA’s] technical director,” he said.
“The thing is I know how to do the job. The first time I didn’t and had to learn on the job. I know a lot of managers who have found it very difficult stepping into international football, knowing how to use their down time and how to put as much of your time to good use.
“Having done the job for eight years, hopefully I’m equipped to slide back into it and hit the ground running.”
And, is he sensing any changes or new challenges to international management that weren’t there previously?
“I don’t think there are any drastic curveballs that are going to catch me out,” he continued.
“We are in a game now where the element of scrutiny and social media analysis is as high as it has ever been, but you adapt and learn to manage that.
“You learn to know what is important in terms of the information that you take in and the information that you ignore. Certainly the three years that I have spent in club football have probably sharpened me in that aspect.”
Davis has ‘real drive to play again’
While explaining how he will be a different Northern Ireland manager than he was before, it appears that – perhaps unsurprisingly – one thing he ultimately wants to stay the same is the presence in his team of squad captain Steven Davis.
The 38-year-old Rangers midfielder, who has won a UK-record 140 caps, suffered a double tear of his ACL in training just before Christmas, with an estimated recovery period of between six and 12 months.
Davis has said he is adopting a “positive but realistic” approach about a return to playing, and O’Neill is hopeful of having him back for the latter part of the Euro 2024 campaign.
“I speak to Steven regularly and have been to see him on a couple of occasions. I think he has a real drive to play again, that’s the most important thing.”
O’Neill added: “Steven would probably admit he has been pretty fortunate with injuries during his career.
“He is still playing at the top level at the age of 38, so you have to have certain things go for you. But I know deep down that he wants to come back.
“He wants to play for Rangers again and I know certainly deep down he will want to come back and play for Northern Ireland again. And that has to be his motivation.
“Hopefully we can be in a really good position in the [Euro 2024 qualifying] group, so that come September or October that heightens his motivation to get back playing again.”
