From pot five when the qualifying draw was made to the Group F summit with three games to play, the scale of Michael O’Neill’s achievement with Northern Ireland cannot be overstated. The man himself will refrain from any back slapping until the job is complete, although he may not have long to wait.
Belfast is the place to be on Monday when O’Neill’s team host Hungary at an expectant Windsor Park. Friday’s 3-1 win in the Faroe Islands, coupled with the Hungarians’ goalless draw against Romania in Budapest, means Northern Ireland can secure their first appearance at a European Championship with victory on home soil.
“The players know that this is biggest game of their careers,” said Kyle Lafferty, scorer of the third in Torshavn and six goals in seven qualifiers. “Win and we create history. We want to do it so much for the fans and they deserve it. It should be a very special night at Windsor.”
History, and this campaign, suggests Northern Ireland will not make it easy for themselves but first place in their group with a record of five wins, one draw and one defeat makes a mockery of claims they owe their success to the increased qualification process.
O’Neill and his players are on the verge in their own right, and the prospect of France next summer is even more impressive in comparison to the 46-year-old’s first qualifying campaign as manager. Northern Ireland finished second from bottom of their qualification group for the 2014 World Cup, with defeat to sixth-placed Luxembourg featuring in a dispiriting campaign that yielded one win in 10 matches. The Irish Football Association stood by the former Brechin City and Shamrock Rovers manager. The benefits are being reaped.
“I always felt that if we could get a team on the pitch and keep it on the pitch we would be competitive, and that’s proven to be the case. In the last campaign we didn’t manage to do that,” says O’Neill on the dramatic improvement. “We had only two players who played in all 10 games – Roy Carroll and Steven Davis. Now when you look through the squad, a considerable amount of players have played seven games – Chris Baird, Oliver Norwood, Kyle Lafferty, Gareth McAuley and Steven Davis. I’ve made one change to the team in the last three games.
“Last campaign I was juggling and fitting people in. Players were injured and suspended. From that point of view, when you are competitive in the group the job becomes a bit easier. Players are desperate to be here first of all. The other pleasing aspect is that our discipline has been phenomenal. Our bookings were really high in the last campaign and we had three red cards. When you have our player pool you just can’t carry that. The players have really learned from that and we’ve seen the benefit.”
Lafferty and Chris Brunt avoided bookings against the Faroes that would have seen them suspended for the all-important Hungary game. For O’Neill, the challenge now is to carry the momentum of a third away win in four into match while ensuring the team does not get carried away amid the expectation and anticipation.
“When you’ve had disappointments at international level, which I’ve had as a player and manager, and this group of players have experienced that as well, I think that makes it easier,” O’Neill says. “I don’t think they will get carried away. They’re a sensible bunch. The quick turnaround in games will help us. They’re just delighted to get this opportunity. You could see it in the dressing room on Friday. It wasn’t a case of ‘We’ve done the job’ in there. They know they need to go again.”
