Northern Ireland's amazing year
Wednesday 30 December 2015 13:45, UK
Sky Sports News HQ reporter Paul Gilmour looks back at an amazing year for Northern Ireland...
It's the morning after Michael O'Neill claimed a second coach of the year award in a matter of days, and the former Brechin and Shamrock Rovers boss is in demand.
He finishes a chat with the in-house Irish FA media team before being handed a phone to conduct a radio interview. Afterwards, he's asked to sign a number of the new Euro 2016 Northern Ireland shirts for marketing purposes.
A couple of weeks previous, O'Neill spent the days after the draw travelling around France meticulously plotting the best possible travel routine for his players next summer.
It's a frantic end to a frantic year but he wouldn't have it any other way. As the popular Neil Diamond Windsor Park anthem suggests - good times have never been so good.
"It's been amazing," O'Neill told Sky Sports.
"The most pleasing thing was to see the growth and development of the team. I felt that if we could get a team on the pitch and keep them on the pitch that would be important. We had so many players who played nine or 10 games in this campaign and that was always going to be vital for us."
It's a team that won six, drew three and lost just once in qualifying for their first major finals since the 1986 World Cup. Claims from some that Group F was not a difficult group overlook the fact it is precisely these types of fixtures that have proved forgettable for Northern Ireland teams in recent years, epitomised by the fact they failed to beat Luxembourg and Azerbaijan in four games during World Cup qualifying. So does O'Neill expect his players to surprise people in France?
"Yes I do. We deserved to win the group, we were the top scorers and we had a very effective way of playing. We were very good when we didn't have the ball. Those will be the characteristics we need when we go to the finals," he said.
Inventive and resourceful on the training pitch, O'Neill and his staff leave no stone unturned when preparing for matches and the players love playing for him. Booklets containing accurate and relevant data, specifically tweaked to meet the individual needs of each player, provided useful additional information during qualifying. He's already begun studying Euro opponents Poland, Ukraine and Germany.
The players are close and enjoy each other's company. While away from international football they stay in touch via their WhatsApp group. They combine the excellent preparation with a passion for the shirt and so far it's been a winning combination.
"The tournament is going to be interesting because we typically spend about nine days together and by day nine they're probably fed up with me, and I'm certainly delighted to see the back of them!" O'Neill jokes.
"I think when they come into the squad they have to feel part of it. You don't have the same hold over them as you would as a club manager. If the experience is good whether you play or not then that will be key.
"We got a lot in this campaign from the players who didn't play. They gave so much to it in terms of the preparation on the training field. Steven Davis stood up after the final game in Finland and made a great speech. He thanked the players who hadn't played because sometimes they don't get the recognition and it's important they know how vital they are to the squad."
O'Neill took the job at the end of 2011. Several senior players were disillusioned and contemplating international retirement following years of disappointment. Seven months into his reign they were ranked 129th in the world (they are now 30th).
In Azerbaijan, before a game they eventually lost 2-0, a pre-match press conference with Gareth McAuley attracted just one written journalist in a room with a top table and five rows of seats. In the end, the journalist pulled up a seat beside McAuley!
"In the World Cup campaign there were definitely positives but sometimes it isn't easy to see those positives when things are going against you," admits O'Neill.
Fast forward just over two years and the players, most of whom experienced the extreme lows, are history makers. They feature in a popular European Championship sticker album, while phone lines at the IFA crashed before the Greece game such was the demand to watch them play. It's been a remarkable transformation.
They will still be underdogs in France. Only six of their Premier League and Championship players started for their club sides the weekend before Christmas, while top scorer in qualifying Kyle Lafferty has played just 13 minutes of league football this season. Expect him, along with other Northern Irish players struggling for club football, to move in January.
The underdog tag will suit this group. A team this well drilled with nothing to lose could be dangerous opponents. That isn't stopping the manager from setting high standards.
"If you get four points and don't qualify I think you would be extremely unlucky," said O'Neill.
"Our best chance of getting four points is against Poland and Ukraine so we'll focus heavily on that. Equally with this squad if we go to game three needing something against the Germans I'm sure we'd be capable of getting it."
As for his own future, O'Neill is expected to sign a new four-year contract in the new year but admits he will consider club offers.
He said: "I've always said if the opportunity presents itself I would consider it if and when it is presented to me but I'm not rushing into club management. People say to me 'your stock is so high, this is the time' but I don't really see it like that. Football management is a very difficult career to plan so you very much do it in the here and the now.
"My contract negotiations with the IFA are ongoing and have been very positive. My focus is on France and to make sure we do our best."
Summer 2016 will be the moment they've waited a generation for.
