Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood feels Michael O’Neill’s dual role “might be a little bit of a worry” for Northern Ireland fans – but believes he can handle the pressures of combining both international and Blackburn Rovers duties.

Last week, O’Neill agreed a deal until the end of this season at Ewood Park and his reign has got off to a dream start, following up an opening win over Queens Park Rangers by beating rivals Preston North End 1-0 in the dying seconds on Friday night.

Sherwood, who also spent time in charge of Aston Villa, won a Premier League title during his time as a Rovers player and has backed the call to appoint O’Neill as manager.

O’Neill took over with Blackburn sitting in the Championship’s relegation zone but they’ve now moved six points clear ahead of Saturday’s action.

placeholder image — Michael O'Neill, Head Coach of Blackburn Rovers, looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End at Ewood Park. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

The 56-year-old has another six league matches to focus on before taking Northern Ireland’s World Cup play-off semi-final against Italy on March 26.

While Sherwood admits he’d have some concern if he was a Northern Ireland fan, he believes O’Neill has the required experience to deal with the situation.

"No I don’t think so (it’s a problem) because I want him to be the manager of Blackburn!” said Sherwood on Sky Sports. “It gives them the best chance of safety.

"He’s an experienced manager, been there and done it, I think he has a calm head and will get the best out of the group of players he has got.

"I think for Northern Ireland it might be a little bit of a worry, but he’ll get his head on that too. I think he can balance both, I really do.

"Most of his players are playing in the Championship as well. I really like the appointment.

"Ismael did a good job elsewhere but I felt Blackburn needed a calm head, a cool character, and someone who can go in and galvanise the players.

"If this team dropped to League One, it would be unthinkable for somebody like me who had a great time there, for them to drop to League One, they could drop again with this ownership.

"I talked about the severity of the situation, nobody wants to see Blackburn in League One, the fans don’t...they feel like they have been let down by the owners.

"They have to put that to one side, they have to support Michael and keep that club in the Championship.

"You just never know, somebody might buy the club and they end up back in the Premier League, maybe winning it again!”

O’Neill has previously combined roles after taking over at Stoke City in 2019, but he stepped down from his Northern Ireland position a matter of months later to focus on club duties.

He guided the Potters comfortably clear of relegation threat – they sat bottom when O’Neill was appointed – and Jobi McAnuff believes that feat makes him the perfect man for the Rovers job.

"I think that’s a big part of him getting the job, that experience of knowing how to win games when you’re in a relegation battle,” said McAnuff. “It was a lot earlier in the season at Stoke...there’s a difference to winning games in that position compared to higher up the table.

"Given that he hasn’t got much time to work with, going in and making a strong impact is going to be really important.

"There have maybe been some eyebrows raised because he’s doing a job share with Northern Ireland, but he’s an experienced man, he will be calm in this situation, and it’s all about getting as many wins as he can. Blackburn need that positivity and I think he can deliver that.”