With Shane Long, Shay Given and John O’Shea out injured, O’Neill would need to rely on a little bit of luck against in-form Bosnia. PHOTO: REUTERS
The former Celtic manager celebrated his second anniversary in charge of Ireland earlier this week and admitted in the build-up to Friday’s first leg in Zenica that he was keen to stay on.
“Obviously if we could qualify, that would be great, and if we could go on to France, I would be delighted to do that,” said O’Neill. “But if we didn’t qualify, John [Delaney, FAI chief executive] and I will sit down and see where we go. I think John and the board would want me to continue but I am absolutely open to it.”
Skipper Robbie Keane backed his manager, saying it would be “silly” for the Football Association of Ireland to lose faith in O’Neill, who has taken Ireland to the cusp of qualifying for what would be just the third European Championship appearance in the country’s history.
“It would be silly if the manager didn’t get a new contract. He’s obviously done a great job,” said Keane.
First up is in-form Bosnia, with O’Neill facing a selection headache of an unwelcome variety.
Shane Long, who scored a famous winner against world champions Germany last month, will miss the first leg to stay at club Southampton for treatment on an ankle injury.
In addition, goalkeeper Shay Given is injured, while veteran defender John O’Shea and influential forward Jon Walters are suspended for the first leg.
Seamus Coleman, Wes Hoolahan, James McCarthy, Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson, meanwhile, are all on yellow cards, meaning that another booking would rule them out of Monday’s return leg in Dublin.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2015.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ