Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill has shrugged off speculation linking him with the vacant job at Aberdeen but said he could not rule out a return to club football in the future.
O’Neill, 54, is among the names mentioned as a possible replacement for Neil Warnock, who stepped down as Dons boss on Saturday less than an hour after guiding the club to the Scottish Cup semi-finals, becoming the fifth manager to leave Pittodrie in the last three years.
After naming his Northern Ireland squad for the upcoming friendlies away to Romania and Scotland, O’Neill was braced for questions on his future.
“I don’t really give it much thought,” O’Neill told the PA news agency.
“As I’ve said, I was at Aberdeen against St Mirren two or three weeks ago, I was there to see two Northern Ireland players who play for St Mirren.
“That’s a story that has been in the Scottish media. I’m not in control of anything like that. My focus is always here. I signed a five-and-a-half-year contact when I came back.
“I’m not in control of what people speculate or what people write and it’s not something I give a lot of attention to.”
O’Neill returned to the Northern Ireland job in December 2022. He had previously been in charge for eight years, guiding the team to Euro 2016, before leaving for Stoke in early 2020.
Asked if he wanted to manage in club football again, O’Neill added: “I would never close the door on that but when I came back here I came back knowing the job that was in hand.
“I felt I had a group of players who had possibly one last campaign in them. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case because a number of those senior players missed the whole campaign with injury or some retired.
“We’re now in a different phase, we’re having to go through a redevelopment, to build a team with very young players.
“If I do leave at some point and go to club football, the IFA did very well out of me going to Stoke and that’s a bridge we would cross if I ever came to it, but it’s not something I’m focused on at this time.”
That redevelopment project will continue in Bucharest and Glasgow with O’Neill again forced to name a young squad.
Jonny Evans is missing with a calf problem while Stuart Dallas and Corry Evans remain injured, with Steven Davis having announced his retirement in January after more than a year on the sidelines.
After a Euro 2024 qualifying campaign in which a hugely inexperienced Northern Ireland won only three games, O’Neill is hoping to see further growth from his young players.
“This is another opportunity to develop the team,” O’Neill said.
“We have as many as 12 players in the squad who are either uncapped or in single figures so there’s not a huge amount of experience.
“We have to expose them to a level and in these two games we’re playing two teams who are going to the Euro finals in the summer.
“Romania won their group and had a great campaign, unbeaten in 10 games, and Scotland finished second behind Spain.
“It shows the players if they’re going to have to qualify for a major tournament they’re going to have to finish above teams of the calibre of Scotland and Romania. These games are a benchmark for us going forward.”
Giroud leaving Milan to join MLS at end of season
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Giroud leaving Milan at end of season to join MLS
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Beckham: Man Utd's problems have lasted 'too long'
David Beckham believes Manchester United’s issues have lasted "too long" since Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
The Red Devils have won just four major trophies since Ferguson’s departure, with their most recent – an EFL Cup win last season – ending a six-year wait for silverware.
United have not won a Premier League title since the Scot’s final season in charge, with six managers failing to reclaim the top-flight crown since then.
This season, Erik ten Hag’s side are at risk of recording their lowest league finish and points tally, as they sit eighth on 54 points with two games remaining.
Beckham, who won 13 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, told The Athletic: "I think it has been a difficult time over the last five or ten years, but it was always going to be when the boss left the club.
"It wasn’t just that, we lost players like Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Gary Neville, all of these players that had been at United for so long; you lose part of that, and you lose part of the club.
"So it was always going to be a difficult time. But we’d like it to change pretty quickly because I think it’s gone on for too long now."
United have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), with nine of those coming at Old Trafford – their joint-most at home in a season and the first time it has happened in the Premier League.
Their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday marked the first time they had conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions since October 2021, while the 82 goals they have let in this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82).
Beckham was speaking at the premiere of 99, the Amazon Prime documentary covering United’s iconic treble-winning season 25 years ago.
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