Michael O'Neill, who manages both Northern Ireland and Championship side Blackburn Rovers, said he was 'disappointed' by clubs that raised concerns about his dual role. The English Football League (EFL) confirmed it had been contacted by 'one or more clubs' regarding the matter but stated it was not an issue that would be dealt with by them. BBC Radio Oxford reported that Oxford United was among the clubs that raised concerns with the EFL.
O'Neill's Blackburn Rovers are embroiled in a relegation battle, sitting 19th in the Championship table, four points above the relegation zone. A number of Northern Ireland's squad are vying against O'Neill's Blackburn Rovers to avoid relegation from the Championship. In the recent international match against Italy, four Oxford United players were in the Northern Ireland squad: Brodie Spencer replaced Ciaron Brown after 64 minutes, Jamie Donley was taken off at the same time, and Jamie McDonnell did not feature. West Brom's Isaac Price played 45 minutes, while Portsmouth's Terry Devlin was replaced with 10 minutes left. O'Neill has seven games left to prevent Blackburn from dropping into League One.
I was a little bit disappointed with that because I didn't get a phone call from any of the managers.
O'Neill said he 'doesn't have a relationship' with the managers at other clubs that needed to be ironed out and that he will 'always try to protect the players'. Former Northern Ireland international Stuart Dallas said that O'Neill's integrity could not be questioned.
Northern Ireland's hopes of reaching a first World Cup since 1986 were ended by a 2-0 loss against Italy on Thursday. The 1-1 draw in Cardiff was taking place after Wales and Northern Ireland missed out on World Cup qualification.
I didn't get a phone call from anyone from their respective clubs. They felt whatever they decided to do, or what avenue they took to raise their concerns, it's disappointing given that I've managed over 100 international games, and I've always put the players first.
If I'm honest, I'm a little bit disappointed. These clubs, they ask for references on players, they ask for character references, level of performance from us and our staff when they want to sign these players. They were international players when they signed them. Now suddenly it becomes a bit of an issue that they're international players.
I think one thing you can't do is question his integrity, you can't do that. Michael is experienced and he's managed his country more than 100 times. At the end of the day, it is all well and good when these clubs are getting exposure for having so many players called up. If there was something riding in this game tonight, they wouldn't be complaining. Northern Ireland aren't blessed with a big pool of players. These players are all playing the EFL. They play Tuesday and Saturday almost every week, so for me there's no issue.
At the end of the day, my job is to do the best I can for Blackburn Rovers. The lads who manage those respective clubs, their job is to do the best for their clubs as well. I don't think that's an issue at all.