Michael O'Neill clear Northern Ireland 'just have to be patient' with squad depth goal
Michael O’Neill insists Northern Ireland “just have to be patient” as the nation attempts to build further squad depth which will allow them to compete for major tournament qualification on a more consistent basis.
While Thursday’s opponents Italy boasted a star-studded squad stacked full of Serie A and Premier League talent in their 2-0 World Cup play-off semi-final victory, Northern Ireland’s starting line-up included nine players plying their trade in the Championship.
Sunderland’s Trai Hume and Justin Devenny, who has started just five Premier League matches for Crystal Palace this term, were the only top-flight stars available to O’Neill with Conor Bradley and Dan Ballard ruled out through injury.
The likes of Shea Charles and Ethan Galbraith could be poised for big summer moves, while 20-year-old goalkeeper Pierce Charles will also likely have admirers due to Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation.
Northern Ireland’s friendly against Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night could provide O’Neill with an opportunity to hand crucial minutes to fringe players.
"It's hard when you lose a game to realise the positives,” he said. “The players are disappointed and you have to feel that disappointment with them as well.
“But, look, for a nation of our size to (go to Italy) with a team of that age and play as we did, there's a lot of positives.
"The difficulty is having depth in our squad to deal with when players are not available to us...that's something that will take a bit of time.
"There's no way to fast-track that, we just have to be patient.
"When we reflect on the game and what we've done in this campaign overall, to be here at the play-off stage, to play the way we played in the group, as I say, we have a lot more things to be positive about.
"I think the team has developed and it's grown.
"You saw how we played away in Italy, how we played in Germany away, Germany at home.
"Yes, we've lost those games, but the games have all been tight, we've been in the game, we've given a good account of ourselves.
"We've developed a good characteristic of a team that's hard to beat and that has to be something that we have to continue with.”