Martin O’Neill’s future as Ireland boss secure despite Euro struggles

In the space of just one week, Martin O’Neill has gone from being the bookies’ favourite to manage Leicester City to becoming a much hotter bet to stay on as Ireland manager for the 2018 World Cup campaign.

O’Neill himself has heightened expectations of a longer term in office — whether or not Ireland qualify for Euro 2016 — with the revelation that the FAI never told him his job security was dependent on qualification for France and, furthermore, that chief executive John Delaney had actually wanted him to sign up to two campaigns when he was appointed manager of the national team.

“The consequences — I swear to you — were never made clear to me by John,” said O’Neill.

“In fact, John wanted me at the time to commit to a longer time, because he has been a CEO here and he has worked with other managers (and) I think he sees the time element. Of course we want to qualify. I was the one who said ‘let’s see this competition and see where we go’.” And O’Neill strongly hinted that, barring a collapse in the remaining four games of the current qualification campaign, he would be willing to stay on in the Irish job.

“I have to analyse it myself,” he said. “These four matches become really important to us. If we go and don’t register another point on the board, I don’t think that I would have deserved it if that was the case. Let us see how we do. If I was a club manager looking at an international manager – one competition to put (across) his ideas, to make progress — I would have thought that, generally, you would go for two competitions.

“I can’t remember too many managers that just do the one competition and then leave.”

Reminded that, at his unveiling as manager in 2013, he said that he had been told by John Delaney that his remit was to qualify Ireland for France – adding, at the time, “that is probably what I will be judged on” - O’Neill now insists that he was the one applying pressure on himself.

“I have to say this, those were my words,” he said. “John Delaney never said that. I did that myself because I listen to a lot of managerial speak these days and it drives you insane. It does. In fact, John Delaney, to his eternal credit, afterwards said to me that he’d never had said that. John Delaney never said to me that these are the consequences of not qualifying. I was the one.

“Even if you asked him now, he’d never said it. And no member of the FAI, and there’s been a few changes, have ever said that was the case. In fact, John was quite the opposite by saying I don’t think you should have put that pressure on yourself. I think the consequences of not qualifying are always there. But those words were genuinely from myself.”

And, reaffirming his current commitment to the job, the manager declared: “I wasn’t going to leave halfway through or after six games, regardless of what position we are in. As long as I am in control of that choice, then that commitment is with me.”

In the absence for the third year in a row of a press conference at the FAI’s AGM in Sligo on Saturday, reporters present were unable to question John Delaney on O’Neill’s future or any other issue for that matter. Afterwards, the media submitted a total of 20 written questions relating to the association’s finances and debt repayments, match security and ticketing arrangements, the controversial FIFA payment, the revenue generated by League of Ireland affiliation fees and fines, and other issues. Acknowledging receipt of the questions, the FAI press office said they would be considered today.