O’Neill bids to expand Northern Irish pool

New Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has vowed to give every eligible player a fresh start in his bid to turn around the country’s footballing fortunes.

O’Neill, who starts his two-year tenure on 1 February, was unveiled at the Irish Football Association’s headquarters at Windsor Avenue yesterday and immediately set about making his intentions clear. While it is accepted that Northern Ireland will never have the largest player pool in the world, O’Neill believes he can add to the group that finished fifth in Euro 2012 qualifying under predecessor Nigel Worthington.

The former Shamrock Rovers manager, 42, confirmed he would ask the likes of former captain Aaron Hughes to reconsider their international retirements and cast his eye over those who were out of favour under Worthington. And, most importantly, he pledged to address the talent drain to the Republic of Ireland. “The vision for me is that we need a bigger pool of players available,” he said. “That’s no secret. I’ve never hidden the fact I think it [players switching allegiance] is wrong.

“I think the ruling itself is particularly unfair. What I would say to any young player is think long hard about that decision because, of the players who have made it to date, only Darron Gibson has played a competitive international for the Republic.

“You have to understand where your long-term future is. For players born in Northern Ireland, I think maybe they should aspire to long and distinguished careers for Northern Ireland rather than sitting on the periphery of the [Republic] squad.”