AFTER A LONG-running saga, Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has at last put pen to paper on a new deal.
The Derryman and his backroom team — Roy Keane, Steve Guppy, Steve Walford and Seamus McDonagh — have officially signed on for another two years, which will take in the Nations League and the Euro 2020 qualification campaign.
It was announced back in October that a verbal agreement between O’Neill and FAI chief executive John Delaney was in place, but the 65-year-old has been the subject of much speculation in recent months.
The former Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland boss was heavily linked with number of clubs and held discussions with Stoke City about the possibility of taking over before eventually turning them down.
Speaking last Wednesday, Delaney revealed that O’Neill called him after talks with the Potters to confirm he would be staying on as Ireland manager and he flew into Dublin to iron out the details of the contract extension last week.
O’Neill was back in the capital with his representatives to meet the FAI’s legal team on Monday and the deal has finally been signed.
BREAKING: Martin O’Neill has signed a contract extension to remain on as Ireland manager until 2020! #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/T6exC7gQhN
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) January 23, 2018
He now travels to Lausanne in Switzerland for the Nations League draw, which takes place on Wednesday morning (11am Irish time).
Ireland will discover their three-nation group for the newly-formed competition — starting in September — with the winner set to earn a Euro 2020 play-off spot.
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
