Northern Ireland v San Marino Offical Match Programme

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

qualification.

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

Euro finals.

I don’t think that I have been as proud in my

footballing career as I was to lead this team, this

group of players to a major finals and to enjoy the

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.

We have found ourselves in a difficult group and

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.

It is always difficult to come back

down to earth after a particularly

exciting and uplifting experience.

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

than photo opportunities and selfies, but knowing

this group of players as I do I am confident that

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

give us – now on all four sides of this magnificent

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

qualification business and I am confident that

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

Northern Ireland Manager