Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill insists Irish League stars “at a certain age” need to be “realistic with international expectations” as an increased focus is placed on promoting top young talent from across the water.

Larne striker Lee Bonis was the last player to be called into a senior Northern Ireland squad while plying his trade in the Premiership in 2023 – it came on the back of scoring 15 goals in 34 league appearances to help the Inver Reds seal historic Gibson Cup glory.

Conor McMenamin was rewarded for stunning form at Glentoran with a Northern Ireland debut by Ian Baraclough in 2022 – the winger played six times for his country while in the Irish League.

McMenamin returned to The Oval this summer and revealed he spoke to international manager O’Neill about the move from Coleraine.

placeholder image — Conor McMenamin (left) was picked for Northern Ireland while at Glentoran and Joel Cooper (right) came 'close' for performances at Linfield in 2023. (Photo by Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker)

The 31-year-old said he would “never close the door on” working his way back into O’Neill’s Northern Ireland plans – but acknowledged he would have to perform at a high level for his club.

O'Neill admitted in August 2023 he “was close” to picking Joel Cooper, who has scored 51 goals in his last 97 league appearances across spells at Linfield and Coleraine.

With nine players included in O’Neill's most recent squad on the books of Premier League clubs, the Northern Ireland chief has highlighted how the Irish League is mainly a focus for Tommy Wright’s U21 panel.

"I did speak to Conor, I'm not sure we spoke about (international ambitions),” said O’Neill. "I think players coming back to the Irish League does enhance it, but it's a big step to come from the Irish League to play international football – and it always has been.

"Going back to the days when I played with Felix Healy at Coleraine and he was going to the World Cup in 1982, Felix was a great player, but history tells us that Irish League players, if they are senior internationals, only get a handful of caps.

"I think now our focus is on our younger players who are in England.

"Where we focus a lot on in the Irish League is our younger players, that's where Tommy's been brilliant.

"You look at the likes of Matty Orr coming from Linfield now into Nottingham Forest, not dissimilar to what Trai (Hume) did.

"We will always get players, hopefully, that will come down that route, but I think once you're at a certain age, you have to be realistic with your international expectations.”

O'Neill has placed an emphasis on providing opportunities to Northern Ireland’s top young players with 17 under the age of 25 named in his 28-man panel for the upcoming Nations League window.

“There's been a huge amount of work within the academy over the last three years,” added O’Neill. “I don't think we're leaving players out over 25 who at this minute in time are playing club football at a level that merits their inclusion, if I'm honest.

"Tommy Wright has done a brilliant job with the U21s – he could have nine of my players. That's not easy as an U21 manager, you always want to be as strong as possible.

"He's like any other manager, he wants to win games, but he's been brilliant for the transition of players into the senior squad.

"It's a squad that's going to continue to grow. A lot of them have played a considerable amount of international football already, and hopefully will continue to do so.”