O’Neill recalls law degree job option

Irish soccer manager Martin O’Neill speculated what might have been had he taken his mother’s advice and stuck to legal studies at Queens University in Belfast, rather than follow his dream to become a professional soccer player.

“I had a pushy mother who sent me in the education direction. I was at Queens studying law and had the opportunity to become a professional footballer. My mother wanted me to continue with the education and many a time when things weren’t going great for me in football, I thought that she was probably right.”

During dark moments in his early days in England as a professional soccer player, he contemplated going back to Belfast to resume his degree. At one point he made arrangements at Nottingham University to enrol in the law faculty there. However, success with Nottingham Forest put paid to that.