Martin O’Neill knows that his future at the helm of the Republic of Ireland is dependent on the crunch Euro 2016 play-off against Bosnia.
The Derry native stated his desire to remain in his post with the Irish team in a recent interview with the Times.
Securing qualification for Euro 2016 by beating Bosnia over two legs is guaranteed to keep him in the job, but he is prepared to have a conversation with John Delaney over Christmas if Ireland miss out on another major tournament.
“I’m quite happy at this moment in time. It ends when this campaign ends, so if we reach the tournament, it carries through until the summer and there’s a natural continuation after that. If we don’t get the result we want against Bosnia, I think Delaney and myself will sit down after Christmas.”
“There are friendly games in March, I think, so it will be time to discuss things before those.”
O’Neill believes the FAI are content with his performance with the national team so far, but he understands that a poor result against Bosnia might change everything.
“If the FAI are happy with the progress — and John and the board have been very supportive — I think it is something they want. If the games against Bosnia don’t go well, they might change their mind, but they have been very supportive. I think it’s something they genuinely want.”
When asked about the future of Roy Keane, O’Neill hopes that he remains part of his team, but expects him to return to management at some stage.
“I’d want him to (stay on). Roy will make up his own mind.”
“At some point, he’ll want to go back into management. He will want to be making the ultimate decisions. I totally respect that. I think this has been a great stop for him and he may well want to continue, but it’s not something we’ve discussed in great detail yet.”
O’Neill will be hoping that by this time next week, Ireland will have qualified for Euro 2016 and any subsequent discussions with Delaney will be amicable.
