O’Neill adds to party mood

JUST minutes after seeing his Shamrock Rovers side secure back-to-back titles in hugely dramatic fashion at the UCD Bowl, manager Michael O’Neill last night gave his strongest hint yet that he is committed to staying with the club — despite speculation linking him to the vacant Northern Ireland job, amongst other roles.

“A lot of things have been written and said that are factually incorrect,” he said. “People are assuming that I’m leaving just because I haven’t signed a contract. But there were reasons for that [which are] are better kept in-house. But I’ve said to the board that once the league was dealt with we’d sit down and discuss the situation. It’s not a financial thing — I’m more than happy with the financial package that’s being discussed. There’s other aspects that needed to be ironed out and, to be fair, the board have done that. And we move on now — I’m already looking at players that I can sign for next season.”

Last season, O’Neill’s charges had to earn their title the hardest way, the campaign going right to the final night and a nerve-jangling draw in Bray which saw them edge out arch-rivals Bohemians on goal difference.