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MANAGER’S
VIEW
While no-one will ever be able to erase the
memories of the summer past in France, we now
need to bank that and move on to World Cup
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Football, as we all know, encapsulates the
full gamut of human emotions – excitement,
anticipation, fear, anxiety, even disappointment and
we experienced them all over the duration of the
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I don’t think that I have been as proud in my
footballing career as I was to lead this team, this
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highs and lows of the tournament.
And our homecoming was particularly humbling
as we could see the palpable support and how our
performances had lifted the whole country from
young and old, from north to south and east to
west.
However, resting on our laurels is not an option and
the next challenge is to qualify for the World Cup in
Russia in 2018.
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many challenges lie ahead, but I believe that the
experience gained in the Euros and the momentum
that winning and success brings will play a
powerful part in our preparation for the matches.
We have already earned a hard-fought point away
from home in Prague and now we must follow it
up with a victory tonight against San Marino (and
it would be extremely foolish to underestimate our
opponents tonight) before heading to Germany to
play the world champions on Tuesday next.
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My job will be to ensure that the squad are
fully focused on the match and not to let any
distractions surrounding the stadium opening
interfere with their readiness.
Tonight must be about goals and a victory rather
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having tasted success in France they will want to
have more of it and not let anything else get in the
way of their ambitions.
I know that I am fully focused on this challenge
and that with the tremendous support that you can
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stadium – we can achieve more success.
Congratulations to all involved in the development
of the stadium and to you, the fans, who have
been recognised both by the city of Paris and by
UEFA for your friendliness, fair play attitude and
dedication. These accolades are well deserved and
I salute you all for this.
Since the Euros Stephen Robinson has moved
on to become manager of Oldham Athletic and I
would like to thank him for his work with this squad
and wish him well for the next period of his career.
So after all the Euro 2016 fuss we are back to
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tonight we will provide a winning start to our home
matches and take it into the rest of the campaign.
Thanks again for your support.
Michael O’Neill
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www.irishfa.com5