Michael O’Neill said he was “a little bit disappointed” to learn that a number of Championship clubs had contacted the English Football League to raise concerns over his dual role as manager of Northern Ireland and Blackburn.
The clubs raised the matter ahead of Northern Ireland’s friendly against Wales on Tuesday night, citing a possible conflict of interest as O’Neill was able to select players for international duty at a time that they are also involved in the same fight against relegation as Blackburn.
BBC Radio Oxford reported that the Us were among the clubs to have made contact.
Oxford have four players in O’Neill’s squad, with Ciaron Brown and Jamie Donley (below) – the latter scoring Northern Ireland’s goal in a 1-1 draw – starting in Cardiff while Brodie Spencer came on and Jamie McDonnell remained on the bench.
Portsmouth’s Terry Devlin and West Brom’s Isaac Price also started the match, but neither completed the 90 minutes, while Blackburn’s own teenage defender Tom Atcheson came on to make his Northern Ireland debut in the second half.
Blackburn, 19th in the Championship, are four points above Oxford, 23rd, in the table. West Brom are level on points with Rovers, while Portsmouth are three points further back. The next round of Championship fixtures will be played on Friday.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, O’Neill said: “If I’m honest, I’m a little bit disappointed. These clubs ask for references on players. They ask for character references, level of performance, from us and our staff when they want to sign these players.
“They were international players when they signed them. Now suddenly it becomes a bit of an issue that they’re international players.
“I’ll always try to protect the players”
“If you look at the players in question, you know Isaac played 45 minutes tonight, Ciaron played 60, Jamie played 60 and young Jamie McDonnell didn’t play at all. Terry played a little bit more but he didn’t finish both games.
“I’ll always try to protect the players. I don’t want the players coming here and it affecting their club situation.
“So I was a little bit disappointed with that because I didn’t get a phone call from any of the managers. I didn’t get a phone call from anyone from their respective clubs.
“So they felt that, and whatever they decided to do or what avenue they took to raise their concerns, it’s disappointing given that I’ve managed over 100 international games and I’ve always put the players first.”
The EFL has indicated that international selection is a matter for FIFA and not within their jurisdiction.
The league would expect all selection decisions to be taken with integrity and in a way that does not bring the game into disrepute.
O’Neill has faced a number of questions following his decision to take the Blackburn job six weeks ago, and on Monday said he was “fed up” of being asked about his future given speculation that he could move back into club football full-time.