How Michael O’Neill now feels about staying at Blackburn Rovers | OneFootball

The Northern Ireland manager has been sharing that role with the Blackburn job since February but it's reported that he's made a decision over Rovers.

The Blackburn Rovers manager has been in a temporary job-share position at Ewood Park since February, but it's now reported that he's made a decision over his longer-term future.

It's been an unusual arrangement, but the decision of Blackburn Rovers to hire the Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill has reaped dividends for the club.

O'Neill was taken on in February until the end of the season following their decision to sack Valerien Ismael, but this came with the condition that he would also remain in charge of the Northern Ireland national team.

But even with international duties on top of club ones, O'Neill has delivered at Ewood Park, securing Championship football for another season with a couple of games to spare. And with this short-term deal now having come to an end, it's now being reported that the manager has made a decision over his longer-term future.

Michael O'Neill is ready to commit to Blackburn Rovers in the long-term

Reporting on Patreon on Sunday morning, journalist Alan Nixon has stated that, following talks with both the club and his family, Micahel O'Neill has pledged his future to Blackburn Rovers.

O'Neill's original deal only lasted until the end of the season, and with Rovers keen to tie him down to Ewood Park, he took a holiday at the end of the season to consider his options and talk the matter over with his family.

Nixon reports that O'Neill has been offered a three-year deal at Ewood Park, with a promise that there will be money available in the summer to help support a rebuild of the first-team squad. He also confirms that he is looking for an experienced assistant and that this could also come from the Northern Ireland backroom staff.

The good news for Blackburn fans doesn't end there, either. Nixon also reports that the club are close to appointing a new chief executive "after a lengthy wait and pursuit of the right candidate."

O'Neill's success at Ewood Park made Blackburn's further interest in him inevitable

By the time that Blackburn Rovers dispensed with the services of Valerien Ismael on the 2nd February, the club were in serious trouble at the bottom of the Championship. Ismael's final match in charge of the team left Rovers in 22nd place in the Championship table, with a run of just one win in their previous 14 games.

O'Neill's appointment wasn't without some degree of controversy. His arrival at Ewood Park was only until the end of the season, but it was confirmed that he would be continuing in the Northern Ireland job until then as well, and this raised questions in both Lancashire and Northern Ireland over how successfully he'd be able to juggle the two positions.

Northern Ireland were beaten by Italy in the semi-finals of the World Cup play-offs at the end of March, but O'Neill's spell at Blackburn turned out to be rather more successful. A run of three wins, four draws and just two defeats was enough to steer the team away from the relegation places, and they finished the season in 20th place in the table, five points above the drop zone.

The nature of international management is very different to club management, and it's unsurprising that O'Neill took a week out to decide on his future. But with reports of money to be made available in the summer and the potential appointment of a new CEO, it is clear that Rovers are looking to avoid the mistakes of last season which led to them getting involved in a relegation battle, just a year after they only finished two points short of a play-off position.

Tying O'Neill down to a permanent contract could well be considered a serious attempt on the part of the club to get back on track, following what might be considered something of a lost season, this time around.