Euro 2016 memories linger as O'Neill concentrates on the future
Michael O'Neill, who was in the dugout when Northern Ireland beat Ukraine in Lyon at Euro 2016 ten years ago, says his attention is on the present squad and upcoming matches rather than dwelling on that famous victory. The manager made the comments to BBC Sport NI in Trnava ahead of Northern Ireland's Nations League meeting with Ukraine in Slovakia.
When Northern Ireland and Ukraine are mentioned together, images of the Lyon match emerge — hailstones stopping play, Gareth McAuley's header, Niall McGinn celebrating and the persistent chants of "Will Grigg's on fire". O'Neill accepts the public interest in that day but rejects making it a blueprint for the current group: "We don't keep reflecting back on that game and telling the players this is what we aspire to be," he told BBC Sport NI in Trnava. "This team hopefully can write its own history and we have to allow them to do that."
Only two players from the Euro 2016 squad are in the current camp in Slovakia: Josh Magennis and Paddy McNair, the latter aged 31. Former Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis has moved into the coaching staff, and several current squad members were children at the time of the Lyon win — Ceadach O'Neill and Braiden Graham were eight-years-old. Players now with 25-plus caps such as Trai Hume, Shea Charles, Isaac Price and Brodie Spencer were still a few years away from taking their GCSEs, while the average age of the starting XI in Georgia was 23 and dropped to 22.5 against Hungary.
O'Neill said the older generation remain useful examples but insisted the focus is forward: "We may use certain examples of players from those games at Euro 2016 - the likes of Steven Davis, Jonny Evans, Gareth McAuley or Stuart Dallas - as good examples for players to aspire to be. "But for me, this team is about the future and what lies ahead." Shea Charles has been singled out for praise after a strong start to the Nations League.
Northern Ireland have returned to the second tier of the Nations League and O'Neill has set the long-term target of reaching the next European Championship in 2028. The campaign has contained positives: Charles scored a 99th-minute winner in Georgia and the side followed that with a goalless draw at home to Hungary. The players were visibly tired late on in that draw, a result O'Neill attributed to the 5,000-mile return trip to Tbilisi, but the team managed to hold their own against Dominik Szoboszlai's Hungary and had earlier limited the influence of Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the opener.
Slovakia is hosting Friday's match because of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and O'Neill warned that Ukraine remain a threat despite lacking the individual star power of some League B2 opponents. He described Ukraine as favourites for the fixture and noted that their manager, Andrea Maldera, made 10 changes between Ukraine's opening 1-0 win in Hungary and the goalless draw with Georgia in their second game.
"Ukraine's strength is in their collective as a team, rather than what we faced against Georgia with Kvaratskhelia and Hungary with Szoboszlai, who are top European players. "I think that Ukraine have many players that have potential to be on that level and go to the big, big clubs in Europe. "We haven't highlighted any one individual, but we've looked very closely at how they play, with the ball and without the ball, and I believe their strength is in the collective of the team."
Northern Ireland face Ukraine on Friday, 2 October at 19:45 BST in Slovakia; the match is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and to listen to on BBC Sounds, with clips, updates and reaction on the BBC Sport app and website.
