Northern Ireland fans highlight praise for boss Michael O'Neill, 'exciting' team and 'electric' atmosphere
Two Northern Ireland fans have shared their enthusiasm and excitement for the future as the Green and White Army continue to impress under Michael O’Neill’s stewardship.
O’Neill is currently enjoying his second stint as Northern Ireland manager – winning 37 and drawing 22 out of his 99 games so far.
His 100th game in charge will be against Germany on Monday night.
Optimism is high within the Northern Ireland support as O’Neill’s young team are beginning to flourish on the international stage, which was evidenced in the recent Nations League campaign, as well as the start of World Cup qualifying.
With only Paddy McNair and Josh Magennis remaining from Euro 2016 in O’Neill’s recent squad, the Northern Ireland chief has had to form a new team as Messrs Isaac Price, Shea Charles and Conor Bradley have become new heroes.
James Wilkinson, who has been attending games for over a decade, believes O’Neill has now surpassed Billy Bingham as Northern Ireland’s greatest-ever manager.
He explained: “If you look at the statistics, which are quite close across the board, O’Neill has a better win rate than Bingham.
"O’Neill has been the manager for the majority of my time as a Northern Ireland fan and I was so pleased when he returned.
"We have a very exciting young team and whilst they are producing the goods now – who knows what they can achieve over the next decade?
"I actually thought the upcoming World Cup was a tournament too soon for this squad but we might have a chance of qualifying, which would be incredible.
"When we were disappointed to lose to the mighty Germany last month, it just shows you how far we have progressed in the last 18 months.”
The stands at Windsor Park were noisy last Friday night as Northern Ireland beat Slovakia by a 2-0 scoreline.
Mr Wilkinson reckons that the team having an identity and being good to watch has re-ignited the passion from the stands.
"The atmosphere recently has got a lot better,” he added.
"It was obviously amazing on the eve of Euro 2016, throughout the tournament and then after it for a while.
"It probably died a death somewhat as performances and results just didn’t go for us under Ian Baraclough...but that’s in the past now and Friday night was electric.
"The away trips have also been great and the recent double-header against Luxembourg and Germany will live long in the memory as we went toe-to-toe with the Germans in their own back yard.”
Stephen Barr, who grew up in Portstewart but now lives in Bangor, is somewhat of a veteran as he has watched Northern Ireland an incredible 156 times.
There is arguably no better person to ask about the progression of this Northern Ireland team and the impact of O’Neill – who had a spell in charge of Stoke City – prior to returning to the Northern Ireland dugout in December 2022.
"Michael has been a massive success,” he replied.
"Of course, qualifying for Euro 2016 was special but people forget about the fact that he nearly led us to the World Cup after we lost in a play-off.
"I think this current team is probably ahead of schedule at this moment in time. However, they are becoming more experienced and are growing together.
"This is where you have to give Ian Baraclough some credit as he helped develop a lot of those players, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for him and Michael has come in at the right time.
"There’s probably a nice mix of youth and experience with the likes of Paddy McNair and George Saville still around, then you have Shea Charles, Price, Trai Hume and Bradley.
"I re-watched the Slovakia game and the one thing that struck me was that the whole ground was singing – not just the Kop stand.
"It was a statement victory both on and off the pitch as ticket demand is high and everybody just wants to be a part of it.”
With 45 away caps to his name – what is Stephen’s favourite memory from his time following Northern Ireland both near and far?
He responded: “I was on the American tour in 2006 and there were games in New York and Chicago.
"I was blown away by Chicago in terms of the vibe of the city and everything else.
"We visited Washington and we were on the same side of the road as Hilary Clinton, which was a bit surreal.
"Iceland was good fun with the Blue Lagoon and I’ve always enjoyed Slovenia as it’s such a beautiful place.”