- Paul Fennessy reports from the Aviva Stadium

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND boss Martin O’Neill admitted he was disappointed with his side’s performance going forward tonight.

The hosts drew 0-0 with the North at the Aviva Stadium and it could have been worse were it not for a couple of excellent Darren Randolph saves.

“We didn’t create enough going forward and had a few moments of sloppiness ourselves,” O’Neill told reporters afterwards.

“We didn’t get on the ball enough, there were too many mistakes from us. Certainly in terms of going forward, we should do better.

“I’m not too worried about them putting on a performance from me. I’m the manager, it’s my responsibility. Overall, I think the disappointment would be for the supporters. We should do better, certainly going forward, we should be able to create more.”

Not for the first time, the Ireland boss cited his side’s “lack of a goalscorer” as an issue, though he partially defended the 3-5-2 system he has deployed in recent times.

“Well certainly in terms of not conceding goals [it is working]. The chances that the North had were really down to some mistakes that we made. We have to say that, defensively, we’re not conceding. Going forward, we have to do a bit more. We haven’t done it the last few games.”

O’Neill, meanwhile, played down concerns that the wing-back roles were not getting the best out of Seamus Coleman and James McClean, who are primarily regarded as a full-back and winger at club level.

The Ireland boss also confirmed that Sean Maguire, who went off injured tonight, has suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury that kept him out of action for a considerable period previously, adding that it was too early to determine the seriousness of the injury.

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