O’Neill would make use of ‘granny rule’

Martin O’Neill will maximise the eligibility rule should he be appointed as the next Ireland manager.

It has been suggested to the Irish Examiner that the Derryman could target as many as a dozen players under the so-called ‘granny rule’.

The former Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland manager is believed to have identified several Premier League and Championship footballers who either refused to declare for Ireland under Giovanni Trapattoni or haven’t yet been approached. Sources close to O’Neill say he is confident he would be able to convince more players to come on board with him.