Jimmy Nicholl says he was the “luckiest man alive” to have a front row seat for Northern Ireland ’s famous win over Ukraine at Euro 2016.
The former Rangers caretaker boss was in the dugout in France as part of Michael O’Neill’s backroom staff as they gatecrashed the knockout stages.
And the 62-year-old believes that memorable 2-0 victory in Lyon summed up the managerial qualities of O’Neill who stepped down as national boss in April.
“The Ukraine game was on recently and I’ll never forget it,” said Nicholl. “Looking back, I was the luckiest man alive to be involved in such a wonderful occasion.”
O’Neill made FIVE changes after losing to Poland in the opening game and was rewarded with Northern Ireland’s first ever win at a European Championship.
“Some managers might have turned around after the Poland defeat and said ‘lads, you’ve worked so hard to get here, I’m going to give you another opportunity’,” said Nicholl.
“That would have been easy and nobody would have batted an eyelid, but he didn’t. He made a big decision because he knew if we lost we were going home.
“Look at Jonny Evans. He went to left back because Michael told him they had a dangerman (Andriy Yarmolenko) on the right wing. Jonny goes and does it.
“That Ukraine game was one of the best performances I’ve watched from a dugout and seeing it all fall into place on such a massive stage was just fantastic.
“It summed up Michael because he was always weighing up the opposition. Before the Germany games, he knows exactly where Toni Kroos picks up the ball.
“That’s because he’ll have watched all the Real Madrid and Germany games. He’ll boil it down and say ‘this is what we’re going to do’.
“He’d say to Josh Magennis, this is where you’re going to play. This is your job.
“Some players might say ‘where’s my enjoyment?’ But I never heard that with Northern Ireland. Everybody knew their jobs and accepted it.”
