Northern Ireland v Israel

MANAGER’S VIEW

There is a school of thought which suggests that international friendly matches are worthless and of poor quality. As a national manager I am sure you would not expect me to subscribe to that view, and you would be correct.

To a national manager these non-competitive games are essential. Not only do they provide the opportunity to blood new players and try new formations but also to maintain momentum and to build on previous successes, or if things have not been going so well to pick up the pieces and perhaps rebuild confidence. I don’t think we are quite in confidence building territory following Saturday’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. I thought the team performed superbly, however we just did not get the rub of the green. Hopefully tonight our efforts will be rewarded. With the very congested international calendar there are very few opportunities for such games and both tonight and our November fixture will assist me in the preparation of teams for the competitive games. You are never quite sure how players will perform in the white hot arena of international football until they actually experience it and we need an experienced and well prepared squad to see us through the challenges ahead. Our friendlies in South America in the summer of 2014 against Uruguay and Chile laid the foundations for our successful Euro 2016 qualification campaign. And I am optimistic that the games played this past summer in Panama and Costa Rica, with all their associated challenges, will prove invaluable as we compete in the UEFA Nations League against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Austria and the forthcoming Euro qualification matches, the draw for which will take place in Dublin in December.

There is an added spice to tonight’s game against Israel and November’s match against the Republic in that they are UEFA sanctioned and are part of the UEFA week of international football and also are part of the UEFA central television contract. The last time Israel played in Belfast was in the qualification matches for the 2014 World Cup in March 2013 when they inflicted a 2-0 defeat on us. However today we are a very different proposition and I know that the players and my backroom staff are as committed as I am in maintaining our proud record here in Belfast. We pride ourselves in our competitiveness and being difficult to beat, but especially in front of our own fans in the National Stadium we are formidable and, I hope, quite scary opponents. Complacency is not part of my make-up and under their new coach (Andreas Herzog, whom I played against when he was an Austrian international) I know that Israel will be trying to kick-start their campaigns, and teams with new coaches have lots to prove and are therefore challenging to face. We will be prepared for the game and I hope it will assist us in our future planning and preparation. And I know that you will be getting behind the team as usual. Enjoy the match and thanks for your continued support. Michael O’Neill Northern Ireland Manager

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