O’Neill masterminded his beloved Northern Ireland’s successful passage through to its first ever European championships, snapping the country’s 30-year wait to qualify for a major tournament in the process.
Previous Employment
After a well travelled playing career that spanned over 20 years with 13 different clubs, O’Neill opted to pursue a career in finance working for Ernst and Young in a consultancy role. A passionate football man who represented Northern Ireland on 31 occasions, O’Neill opted to return to the game in a managerial capacity. Upon completing his Pro coaching licence, O’Neill’s first taste as a coach came when he worked part time at Scottish third division club Cowdenbeath as an assistant.
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Working two nights a week and earning just £25, the experience re-kindled the former midfielder’s love for the game. What followed was another part time stint as manager of another minnow Scottish club in Brechin City, before landing his first major appointment at Irish club Shamrock Rovers. Despite the crippling financial troubles that saw the club plunge into administration, O’Neill remained defiant in the face of adversity and guided Rovers to the league title in his second season. O’Neill then created history by leading the Hoops to the Europa League group stages – the first Irish club to qualify for a European club competition. All this with a squad worth a mere €600,000.
O’Neill then successfully applied for the vacant Northern Island job in 2011 and endured a rough start before finally notching his first victory at the tenth attempt. The Irish Football Association decided to hand O’Neill a new two year contract and in that time his been the catalyst behind the Green and White Army’s stunning transformation that has seen them go ten games unbeaten. The country’s heroics in achieving Euro 2016 qualification earned O’Neill automatic hero status as they head to France with a head of steam.
Tactical setup
With a squad not blessed with prodigious talent, O’Neill has been able to restore pride back into the bottle green shirt. His ability to rince every last drop of ability from his troops was evident through the qualifying campaign. Now ranked 26th in world, Northern Ireland are now a football nation that has well and truly arrived. O’Neill’s efforts in installing an unwavering belief and steely determination amongst his players has seen the Norn Iron become a tough nut to crack.
A sound defensive bed rock is the platform O’Neill builds his team from in a 4-2-3-1 system. Conceding just eight times in qualifying, O’Neill’s focus on defensive organisation has paid dividends and they will look to take that stingy attitude into the tournament. The 46 year-old has also installed efficiency in attack that has seen his side become a well balance outfit. O’Neill has been tinkering with different formations to make his team more adaptable side. 3-5-2- and 4-3-3 systems were implemented during Northern Ireland’s recent friendly against Wales and O’Neill will continue to experiment to ensure he has an ace or two up his sleeve.
With the centre of defence being the team’s strength, O’Neill has flirted with three at the back to accommodate the selections of Jonny Evans, Gareth McCauley and Craig Cathcart. Evans has been deployed at left back when O’Neill has chosen to play a back four, but he clearly fancies the idea of playing the defensive trio in their natural positions. It seems a sensible thought process considering the attacking ammunition his side will encounter in the group stages.
Superb man management skills have also been a major hallmark to O’Neill’s managerial makeup. Its quite clear that the players would run through brick walls for their boss and that is a testament to the enormous respect for O’Neill commands from his players.
Conclusion
O’Neill’s meteoric rise has been a wonderful story but his unfulfilled career as a player still burns deep inside. He has stated that he will use that regret as a motivating factor to urge his chargers and himself to seize this opportunity on such a big stage. There will be no stone unturned in O’Neill’s preparation as Northern Ireland face a daunting task of progressing through to the round of 16 after being pitted against Germany, Poland and Ukraine.
Being the first Catholic to manage Northern Ireland in 50 years, O’Neill has galvanised communities all over Northern Ireland, breaking down long-standing barriers between Catholic’s and Protestants. The enormity of joining Europe’s elite goes beyond football, and the Green and White Army will unite as one as O’Neill faces his moment of truth.
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