O’Neill ‘desperate’ for NI players to reach top flight

“Game time is a challenge. It’s always been a little bit of a challenge for Northern Ireland squads”.

Since Michael O’Neill’s return as Northern Ireland manager in 2022, when he inherited a much younger squad than the one he had taken to Euro 2016 during his first stint, he has consistently stressed the need for his players to be playing as often as possible at as high a level as possible.

As such, the final weekend of the domestic seasons in England and Scotland could prove important for his international squad.

While the likes of Callum Marshall, Jamie Donley and Dale Taylor are on the books of Premier League teams, with that trio having spent the season on loan in League One, just two players in O’Neill’s 26-man squad for friendlies against Denmark and Iceland next month featured in England’s top tier this season.

Liverpool’s Conor Bradley picked up a Premier League winners ‘ medal, with Crystal Palace’s Justin Devenny doing likewise in the FA Cup.

However, citing the challenging experience of facing Alexander Isak in defeat by Sweden in March, O’Neill knows regular exposure to such talents would be hugely beneficial.

“In the past, we would have had more players playing their club football at a higher level”, he said.

“If you look back to the team that went to the Euros, there was probably maybe as many as six, seven, eight players playing at Premier League level and had played at that level for quite a number of years, most of their career, if not all of their career.

That could change for two of his panel on Saturday with key defenders Dan Ballard and Trai Hume involved in the Championship play-off for Sunderland against Sheffield United at Wembley.

Ballard came through the ranks at Arsenal but did not feature for the club before moving to the Stadium of Light in 2022, while Trai Hume took a different path to the Black Cats, playing more than 50 games in the Irish League.

O’Neill said he is” desperate “for Sunderland to achieve promotion, believing the pair are capable of playing Premier League football.

” I think sometimes we maybe underestimate our players in that situation. I do believe they are, “he said of their ability to step up a division.

” There would be a lot of clubs aware of how consistent they have been in the Championship, and we have seen other players step up from the Championship and do well in the Premier League, but it is a challenge.

“Sometimes, I believe, it’s preferable to join a team than to join a club. If you enter that position, as Sunderland might, you already have a strong club presence, and they are also considered first-choice players, which is crucial.

With Ethan Galbraith and Jamie Donley both on loan at Leyton Orient and competing in the League One play-off final on Sunday, O’Neill will also be monitoring that game.

Paddy McNair, 30, and George Saville, 31, both from Millwall, are the two most experienced players in Northern Ireland’s squad for the upcoming month’s games.

O’Neill believes his players are at the same stage of their professional and professional careers as their younger counterparts, but one that is still in its early stages with Nations League promotion secured in November.

He said, “I do believe the squad is progressing in two ways: it can progress when it joins as a team and they can progress when they return to their clubs.”

“I believe this squad is still a long way from where it should be in terms of where the players will be in their professional roles as well as their international careers,” he said.