A look at O’Neill’s ‘to-do’ list for NI return

It’s almost three weeks since Michael O’Neill strode purposefully, and very happily, back through the door at Windsor Park.

You could barely wipe the smile off the 53-year-old’s face as he carried out his wide-ranging media duties. No question was shirked and no topic dismissed across over two hours of group briefings and one-to-one interviews as O’Neill looked ahead to what he hopes to achieve over the course of his second tenure.

And while the length of his contract – five and a half years – may have surprised some, it was clear that the ‘building for the future’ narrative regularly pedalled by predecessor Ian Baraclough has moved down the agenda.

Taking advantage of a fortuitously favourable draw for Euro 2024 qualifying, a group that includes Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan and San Marino, is very much O’Neill’s immediate aim. And he was comfortable in asserting that it can be done.

Yes, there is the prospect of Northern Ireland being one of the host countries for Euro 2028. And, yes, O’Neill was beaming with pride at the prospect of being the manager at the helm for that, but that, and the development of young players for it, seems very much like phase two of his return.

Phase one of reign two, however, will be focused on successfully navigating the upcoming qualifying campaign, another one condensed between March and November, and getting to the finals in Germany.

With that in mind, BBC Sport takes a look at some of the things that might be on the former Shamrock Rovers manager’s ‘to-do’ list as he aims to achieve that goal.

Deal with loss of inspirational captain Davis

That smile O’Neill was wearing at his unveiling will most definitely have gone when it was confirmed by Rangers on Christmas Eve that Northern Ireland’s inspirational captain Steven Davis will miss the rest of this season with a serious knee injury.

Without speculating on whether Davis, who will turn 38 on 1 January, will ever return to playing, it looks certain that O’Neill will be without him for the opening four Euro 2024 qualifiers – San Marino away, Finland at home, Denmark away and Kazakhstan at home – at least.

As it did for all Northern Ireland supporters, the news will have come as a devastating blow to O’Neill. He revealed on day one of the job that day two would see a trip to Glasgow to meet with the Rangers veteran to discuss his international future – and it clearly went well, with Davis having since indicated his intention to continue playing for his country.

However, he will now have to decide on who is best placed to anchor what was nearly always a three-man midfield during his first spell. There are a few experienced options – Stuart Dallas, Paddy McNair, Corry Evans and Jordan Thompson among them – while O’Neill might think Ali McCann or exciting young Man City prospect Shea Charles are ready to take on a more pivotal role in the engine room.

O’Neill had a core group of senior players during his first spell that he seemed to form close relationships with, allowing him to not only squeeze every ounce of performance from them but be comfortable enough to give them the responsibility to ensure the rest of the squad were fully on board with everything he wanted to do.

It’s a symbiotic relationship that you never felt Baraclough was able to form with the likes of Davis, Jonny Evans and Stuart Dallas – certainly not to the same extent at least – as the focus shifted towards flooding the squad with younger, emerging talent.

O’Neill has clearly not lessened his view on how much of an asset the senior players can be, revealing that conversations he had with them were a key factor in his decision to return.

He will no doubt not take long to get reacquainted with the players he has managed before, but he will also have to form new and productive relationships with the youngsters who established themselves in the squad under Baraclough, such as Dan Ballard, McCann and Charles.

The personnel will, of course, feed into the style of play that O’Neill decides to go with but, while he did at times opt for a back three before, the 3-5-2 that became the go-to formation for his predecessor was not a system he often deployed.

‘Reignite’ belief in players and supporters

One of the key hallmarks of O’Neill’s first reign in charge was how he completely transformed the mindset of Northern Ireland players and supporters.

The Irish FA hashtags may not have been for everyone, but they captured the mood as belief was very much re-instilled in a team that began picking up results with a consistency that had not been enjoyed since Billy Bingham’s glorious spell in the 1980s.

Baraclough could quite fairly point to a number of mitigating factors, but that belief has most definitely drained from around Windsor Park over the last few years, and O’Neill noted the need for it to be “reignited”.

And, of course, he has previous in resurrecting a national team at a low ebb in terms of results and morale. That was the case when he first took over from Nigel Worthington in December 2011 and, though his first campaign was unremarkable, a team meeting before qualification for Euro 2016 began set out a very clear and practical pathway to the finals in France.

Having a similar positive impact on player and supporter morale, on a more fast-tracked pace than before, will be important to O’Neill securing what would be only a second-ever European Championship qualification for Northern Ireland.

Put the win back into Windsor

Crucial to fuelling that belief during O’Neill’s first spell was how Northern Ireland began winning home games at Windsor Park on a regular basis.

Across the qualification campaigns for Euro 2016, World Cup 2018 and Euro 2020, O’Neill’s side won nine and drew three of the 15 matches played at their south Belfast base, roared on at every one by a capacity crowd that created an atmosphere revered around Europe.

And it was not just wins over lowly-ranked countries such as San Marino and Azerbaijan, though these were on the list. It was against solid sides with decent pedigrees – such as Czech Republic and Norway – who will likely have travelled to Belfast expecting a draw at least.

It’s not a trend that Baraclough was able to continue, a task that was significantly impeded by the loss of the Green and White Army in the stadium for the early games of his reign. The competitive record was played 11, won two and lost four, with the draw against Cyprus in June leading to boos and chants calling for the manager to go.

O’Neill spoke at his unveiling about how excited he is to step out as Northern Ireland manager once again at the National Stadium – and he knows that how his team fare as hosts will be key to his chances of success.

Restoring consistency to backroom team

One of the most surprising aspects of O’Neill’s media briefing was his willingness to discuss the possibility of two of his former players – ex-captain and now IFA technical director Aaron Hughes and current NI U19/17 coach Gareth McAuley – being part of his backroom team.

Niall McGinn has already said what a boost this would be and the fact O’Neill did not shut down the questions about the former defensive stalwarts, both on camera and off it, would suggest that at least one of them is likely to be one of his coaches.

Whether the pair are involved or not, one thing the new manager will no doubt be keen to do is restore consistency to the first-team coaching staff. The chopping and changing nature of the coaches brought in and out under Baraclough – admittedly for a range of factors – could not have been helpful to preparation and the training session dynamic.

Attention to detail and careful, methodical planning were hallmarks of O’Neill’s successful first reign, with the likes of Austin MacPhee and Stephen Robinson playing important roles for a manager who realised the importance of scenario planning for all eventualities in gaining an edge in games.