The Northern Ireland manager has helped keep Blackburn in the Championship
Blackburn manager Michael O’Neill has indicated he will hold discussions with the club regarding his future following his team’s 3-1 victory over Sheffield United, which secured their Sky Bet Championship status.
Yuki Ohashi netted a brace alongside fellow Japan international Ryoya Morishita as Rovers established a commanding 3-0 advantage by half-time in their second-to-last fixture of the campaign.
Although Harrison Burrows reduced the deficit for the Blades shortly after the restart, Blackburn clinched only their second victory in seven outings to move eight points clear of the relegation zone, with the bottom three clubs still having two fixtures remaining.
O’Neill, who manages Northern Ireland, chose to undertake both positions when appointed through to the season’s conclusion in February after Valerien Ismael’s departure.
Addressing his future prospects, O’Neill stated: “Of course, those discussions will take place. You know, the club have a decision to make themselves and what direction they want to go.
“I’m a contracted manager, so the situation doesn’t really change. I suppose, for any club if they wanted to me as their manager, they would have to go through the IFA, they would have to meet the terms of the release clause, and I would have to want to do it.
“This was a loan and I suppose, given where we are, it’ll be deemed as a successful loan.
“I’ve enjoyed the club. There’s a lot of really, really good people at the club and I’m sure conversations will happen one way or the other in the weeks ahead.” O’Neill, who admitted he had underestimated the demands of the dual role and acknowledged he couldn’t sustain both positions permanently, expressed feeling “relief more than anything else”.
He added: “I’m delighted for the players, delighted for the club. Obviously, I don’t really like to call it celebration, because at the end of the day, you never want to be in this situation.
“But a really good performance. First half, you know, obviously, a terrific performance.”
Blades manager Chris Wilder, who had been targeting a top-10 finish following consecutive victories over Hull and Watford, made four substitutions at the interval and described it as “a really disappointing night”.
“We were just miles off of it first half. No energy, no spark,” he said.
“Against a counter-attacking team who sit in and make it hard, finding that first goal is important. We should have found it after 35 seconds, but we didn’t.
“They sit in as you’ve seen their shape and they make it difficult for you and we just didn’t have the nous to break it down.
“The first goal is important and it’s really disappointing yet again, from our point of view, the first goal and the things that we could do better.”
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