Vincent Sweeney says it’s no surprise that his former Irish League manager and mentor Tommy Wright is being linked with the vacant Northern Ireland job.
Wright, one of the front runners to succeed Michael O'Neill, took Sweeney under his wing during their time together at Limavady and Ballymena United.
The former striker, now a personal trainer in Derry, also played for Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny at Derry City.
“Tommy was amazing for me and he changed my career,” he said. “He took a special interest in me at Limavady and he took my game to a different level.
“At times we clashed because we both had a similar winning personality, but his man management was superb and he got the best out of me.
“He would have phoned me twice a week and sent me text messages asking ‘how’s my favourite player today?’ He went out of his way to help me.
“Psychologically, he taught me a lot and he fed his teams good energy. You could have been playing Linfield or Glentoran, but you felt on top of the world playing for Tommy.”
Sweeney credits Wright, who recently stepped down as St Johnstone manager, for “changing my life and football career”.
“He had a massive impact on me,” he said. “He demanded a lot from you, but I loved every moment playing under Tommy.
“It doesn’t surprise me that he has gone on to do what he’s done in management and that he’s now being linked with an international job.
“It’s the same with Stephen Kenny. I worked under both and they were inspirational figures. It was a privilege playing for two successful managers like that.”
