Michael O

Michael O'Neill was keen to avoid the spotlight but admitted he is pleased to have achieved his mission after reflecting on Blackburn Rovers' season.

The Northern Ireland boss is currently away on holiday, with talks over his long-term future expected to ramp up next week. Many of the players have taken themselves away on breaks in the immediate aftermath of the season finishing too.

Rovers fans are desperate to see O'Neill commit his future to the club and understandably so. Even if he prefers to avoid the headlines, his impact has been transformative in guiding them to safety.

“I am just pleased that the club has got away from the situation that it was in," he insisted.

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"I don’t really look at these types of things in relation to me. I have been brought in to do this job. It was challenging, there’s no doubt about that.

"I am the sort of manager who likes to shake the opposition's hand and go down the tunnel. I'm not about the side of football that exists. But it was great to see so many fans stay.

"We had a lot of challenges within the group, a lot of injuries in that period of time and the squad was really, really stretched. But what I did find was a club where the people stuck together and got through the situation."

O'Neill has spoken fondly about his time at Rovers throughout. He has been particularly complimentary about staff around the club who have made him feel welcome.

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“A lot of really good people in the club, and a lot of people who love the club and want it to progress," he said on those inside.

"That is very evident to me, they made me and my family feel extremely welcome. My wife and daughters love coming here to the games, so it has been a real positive experience.

"It has been draining at times, I am not going to lie. When you are in that bottom situation. Every manager will tell you that. It is not really an enjoyable experience; you are just trying to get your team to safety.

"Thankfully, obviously it took us until the 45th game to get there but we managed to do that.”

O'Neill has repeatedly praised Damien Johnson's guidance on the playing squad too. Having someone with such a deep knowledge of Ewood Park matters has been invaluable.

“I think the difficulties are more in how I deal with that myself - not essentially the workload, but just the emotions as a manager that you go through is probably the most difficult thing," O'Neill said on the dual role with Northern Ireland.

“Any manager will tell you that at times, it is a very lonely job. I am fortunate that in both jobs I have really good staff. I had really good staff here, the lads who I brought in, Steven Davis and Phil Jones, but realistically, we wouldn’t have got to the position we got to without Damien Johnson.

“He had all the knowledge of the club and the players. He was heavily involved in all of the preparation of the team as well. I have known Damien for a long time and knew I would enjoy working with him. His work ethic is second to no coach I have worked with. He does everything possible to make sure the team is as prepared as possible.

“It was enjoyable coming in and working with him because you are in a situation where sometimes you are having to work with people you don’t know, and that is challenging as well. I think the difficulty was maybe just how I managed my own emotions over the period as much as anything, as opposed to the workload.

“Obviously, the game schedule in the Championship is challenging as well. But in the end, we got the job done in terms of keeping Blackburn Rovers safe. Unfortunately, missing out on going to the World Cup, but that is international football.”