Michael O’Neill: How will he juggle Northern Ireland and Blackburn Rovers?

O’Neill has been brought in at Blackburn to save the club from dropping into League One for the first time since 2018.

However, success with his club could cause issues on the international stage.

O’Neill has consistently spoken about having Northern Ireland’s players playing at the highest level, but a significant number of players will be going up against O’Neill’s Rovers to avoid the drop.

At Sheffield Wednesday, who seem doomed after their points deduction earlier in the season, goalkeeper Pierce Charles has been a positive in a difficult and injury-hit year.

Moving up the table, there is a strong Northern Ireland contingent at Oxford United, with Brodie Spencer, Jamie Donley, Jamie McDonnell and Ciaron Brown.

One point above Blackburn, Terry Devlin’s Portsmouth are also in danger while Isaac Price, who has been such a key player for O’Neill with Northern Ireland, is far from safe at West Brom.

However, for O’Neill, he said he isn’t “having that blood on my hands” and the fate of those clubs lay with their respective managers.

“At the end of the day, my job is to do the best I can for Blackburn Rovers,” he said.

“The lads who manage those respective clubs, their job is to do the best for their clubs as well. I don’t think that’s an issue at all.”