Former St Johnstone and Kilmarnock chief Tommy Wright extends stay with Northern Ireland U21s ahead of upcoming European Championship qualifiers
Northern Ireland U21s manager Tommy Wright has extended his contract with the Irish Football Association and will take charge of the upcoming UEFA U21 Euro 2027 qualification campaign, which begins in September.
The former St Johnstone chief was appointed U21s boss in August 2023 and overseen Northern Ireland’s most recent European Championships qualifying campaign, finishing fourth in Group F which also included England, Ukraine, Serbia, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.
Wright’s side celebrated a pair of victories over Azerbaijan, including a 5-0 success in Ballymena, while they also recorded a memorable win in Serbia with Charlie Allen and Craig Farquhar both scoring.
Arguably their best result was a stalemate against group winners England with Northern Ireland keeping a side that contained Premier League talent aplenty – Jarell Quansah, Archie Gray, Elliot Anderson, James McAtee, Morgan Rogers, Lewis Hall and Liam Delap all featured – at bay.
A number of Wright’s U21 stars have since made the move into Michael O’Neill’s senior side with the likes of Justin Devenny and Ruairi McConville amongst the latest to earn international caps.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with the young players in trying to develop them and give them a taste of what international football is and to prepare them to move up to the senior squad, and to help their club careers as well,” said Wright.
“Against the top three seeds England were the only team to beat us by more than one goal.
“There were a lot of good performances in terms of team performances and a lot of good performances in terms of individuals, and I think that was reflected in the number of players who moved up into Michael’s squad throughout that campaign.
“Michael keeps apologising to me that he is going to take players but it doesn’t bother me. I know the role that I’ve got to do. I know that it gives an opportunity for possibly an even younger player to come in to the 21s.”
In their upcoming qualifying campaign, Northern Ireland will face Georgia, Germany, Greece, Latvia and Malta.
Wright’s side will be taking part in a tournament in Turkey later this month in preparation for their qualifiers with the squad set to be announced on Friday.