O’Neill takes keen interest in league

Martin O’Neill has insisted his engagement with League of Ireland football as Ireland manager will not just be for show.

O’Neill yesterday attended the launch of the SSE Airtricity 2014 season which kicks off next Friday and, in front of an audience at the Aviva Stadium which included managers and players from Premier and First Division clubs, said he hoped to track the progress of future international talent in the domestic game.

“I’m obviously going to try and take a few games in,” he said. “Hopefully, as the managers might tell me during the course of the season, it will not be a PR exercise or anything like that. I hope to see some players coming through. I actually think that they will do. And I’m really looking forward to it.”