Why centurion O'Neill 'fits Northern Ireland perfectly'

World Cup qualifying: Northern Ireland v Germany

Venue: Windsor Park, Belfast Date: Monday, 13 October Time: 19:45 BST

Coverage: Watch on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, listen on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds, follow live text coverage on the BBC Sport website & app

As he looks to become the first Northern Ireland manager to take the country to a World Cup since Billy Bingham at Mexico 86, Michael O'Neill will emulate the man who gave him his international debut in a different way on Monday night.

In the 2026 World Cup qualifier against Germany at Windsor Park, O'Neill will become only the second man to take charge of the national side 100 times.

The former Stoke City and Shamrock Rovers boss, 56, has been at pains to point out that the personal milestone pales into insignificance when compared to his side's attempts to reach the USA, Canada and Mexico next summer.

When allowing himself a brief moment of reflection, however, he did acknowledge that he certainly would have "bet against" racking up a century of games in the dugout during his earliest years in charge.

Indeed, a year and a half into his reign, O'Neill still thought he "might never win a match as an international manager".

After he succeeded Nigel Worthington as Northern Ireland boss in 2011, it took the 31-times capped midfielder 10 games to enjoy his first win in the job, a 1-0 victory over Fabio Capello's Russia in Belfast in August 2013.

Rather than represent a turning point, however, a month later Northern Ireland were beaten 3-2 by a Luxembourg side then ranked 140th in the world.

After that result, it was not only O'Neill who would have been hesitant to predict he would achieve such longevity in the role.

Yet a little over two years later, he had guided the team to a place at Euro 2016, at the time their first major tournament in three decades.

Former Leeds United defender Stuart Dallas, who won 62 caps for Northern Ireland and was a part of the squad that reached the last 16 at the tournament, believes O'Neill was a "huge part" of the success enjoyed during his international career.

"I know how much I enjoyed playing for him and I know how much the players I played with enjoyed playing for him," said Dallas.

"His man-management skills are second to none. That's before we even talk about his coaching.

"He is a fantastic coach and a fantastic manager. He just fits Northern Ireland perfectly. He knows what is needed at international level."

Although O'Neill resigned in April 2020 to take charge of Stoke, his absence lasted only 28 internationals and he returned to the post in December 2022.

The group to which he returned, however, was radically different to the one he left.

Injury ended the international careers of Steven Davis and Dallas earlier than expected, while the retirements of Jonny Evans and Craig Cathcart robbed the group of yet more experienced campaigners.

Leading such a young group presented a different challenge to his first spell, but the impact of O'Neill's previous time in charge still counted in his favour.

"You saw the success that he had before and he's a massive name back home," said Liverpool's Conor Bradley who has been given a leadership role in the team by O'Neill.

"He's a special manager. He gives you confidence going into games, and it's a big part of management to be able to do that, but tactically as well he's top notch."

Bingham gave O'Neill his international debut in February 1988 when he was still just 18-years-old and only four months after Newcastle United had signed him from Irish League side Coleraine.

With his new-look Northern Ireland side built around young talents like Bradley, Isaac Price, Shea Charles and Justin Devenny, O'Neill feels the belief shown in him as a teenager has proven instructive to his approach to international management.

"Billy put a lot of faith in me and maybe the fact that he put that faith in me has influenced me to put faith in young players as well," he said.

One such player is Isaac Price who was given his international debut as a 19-year-old who had played just 13 senior minutes for Everton.

"He's been perfect for me. He brought me in at a time he didn't have to," said Price, who later moved to Standard Liege and is now with West Brom.

"I was playing under-23s football at Everton and he saw something in me he thought he could use and develop."

Price became the youngest player to score 10 times for Northern Ireland when he netted against Germany in the 3-1 defeat last month.

The 22-year-old had missed a penalty against Luxembourg three days prior to scoring in Cologne and credits a brief exchange with O'Neill as vital in quickly moving on from his poor performance.

"You've missed a penalty, didn't play very well, and it's a bit of a low point. You feel like everything's coming down and then you're going to play Germany," he added.

"The night before the game Michael comes over to me and just says 'forget about what happened the other night, you'll go out and do something' and then it happens.

"That's his experience. Michael has been around football so long, he'd have seen it with so many players. He just managed me really well."

In another lesson from his own career, O'Neill remembers turning up for Northern Ireland duty when things were not going as hoped at club level and has focused on creating an environment that players look forward to being a part of regardless of how things have gone for them between international windows.

While O'Neill's tactical nous is appreciated by his players, with Ethan Galbraith stating "the stuff he does on the pitch is unbelievable", the importance of his man-management skills are emphasised time and time again.

Shea Charles, Dan Ballard and Trai Hume have all joined Bradley in captaining the team under O'Neill and each return to the theme.

With such a young panel, Charles feels it is "incredible how he brought up the group together", while Ballard believes the inexperienced squad have been "galvanised" by O'Neill since his return.

Hume describes it simply as a "joy to play under" O'Neill.

"He gives us a lot of confidence. He makes our jobs very clear on the pitch, all we have to do is go out and do it," added the Sunderland defender.

"He's been fantastic for the country."