Blackburn Rovers have confirmed the appointment of Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill as their new Head Coach. The 56-year-old has agreed a short-term deal until the end of the season, with an agreement in place for O'Neill to link up with Northern Ireland for their World Cup play-offs campaign next month.
Who is Michael O'Neill?
The former Stoke City boss is taking on his fourth job in club management, joining Blackburn Rovers. O'Neill took charge of the Potters in a similar arrangement back in 2019 before taking the job full-time. Ultimately, after 142 games, O'Neill left the club and returned to take charge of the Northern Ireland team for a second spell.
He is only the third Northern Ireland manager to lead the nation to a major tournament, having taken them to the 2016 Euros in his first spell in charge.
O'Neill's only other two stints in club management came at Brechin City and Shamrock Rovers between 2006 and 2011.
How will this arrangement work?
The understanding is that Michael O'Neill will not miss any Blackburn matches, despite initial concerns, with Northern Ireland's World Cup play-offs taking place during the March international break.
The consensus is that O'Neill will take Blackburn's home match against Middlesbrough on Saturday, 21st March, before joining up with his Northern Ireland squad to take on Italy in Rome on Thursday, 26th March.
Should NI win that game, O'Neill will remain with the team to take on either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina the following Tuesday. The understanding is that he will return to Blackburn in time to take charge of the Good Friday fixture at Birmingham.
Damien Johnson will be on the side-line as Rovers take on QPR on Saturday, and it is expected that he will lead training whilst O'Neill is away. Phil Jones and Steven Davis have also joined the club as part of O'Neill's backroom team. Danny Ventre, Nacho Sancho and Ben Benson will remain in their current coaching roles at the Lancashire club.
Why Michael O'Neill?
I don’t think it would be unfair to suggest Valerien Ismael’s departure caught the Blackburn Rovers board by surprise. After considerable reflection, it would be incredibly unlikely that Rudy Gestede would have chosen to sack Ismael following the defeat to Hull, with Sheffield Wednesday just around the corner and no replacement lined up.
It has been widely reported that Blackburn were in talks with former Oxford United boss Gary Rowett, but talks eventually broke down, leaving the Lancashire club to turn to O’Neill.
Whilst there is plenty of scepticism surrounding this move, it could be the perfect one for both Blackburn Rovers and Michael O'Neill. The former Stoke boss may be looking for a route back into club football should his Northern Ireland adventure end with the World Cup play-offs, in which case, should he keep Rovers up, there may be a contract on the table.
All that being said, Rovers could be back to the drawing board in the summer, regardless of which league they are in, should Northern Ireland qualify for the World Cup. The summer will no doubt be a time of mass reset and a new start for Blackburn Rovers.
In the meantime, Michael O'Neill has the difficult task of keeping Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, whilst qualifying for the World Cup.
