O’Neill must get used to being a spectator again

Monitoring players, scouting new ones, finalising his backroom team and looking into the possibility of a pre-World Cup friendly or two in the United States — all of this and more will be on Martin O’Neill’s agenda between now and Ireland’s next game, at home to Serbia, in March.

One month before that, the new manager will also learn Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifying destiny when the draw takes place in Nice in February. But, for now, in the aftermath of his first two games in charge, it’s all about getting to grips with the more routine aspects of international football management.

“I will be watching a lot of games,” he said. “I am hoping to be over in Dublin in the next week or 14 days to get a couple of days with John [Delaney] and maybe see the backroom staff and that sort of stuff. There’s a few things to organise but generally speaking it will be football matches where the lads will be playing so that, let’s say by March, I can form a really strong opinion on the players and maybe” — he added with a grin — “find out just what position [Marc] Wilson might end up playing in, you know.”