Former Stoke City manager Lou Macari has praised Michael O'Neill for his decision to re-introduce striker Mame Biram Diouf back into his squad during his first two matches in charge at the Bet365 Stadium.

Diouf had found himself frozen out of the Potters' first team during the first few months of the campaign under Nathan Jones, with the likes of Lee Gregory, Scott Hogan, Tyrese Campbell and Sam Vokes all ahead of him in the pecking order, which saw the striker struggle to even make the squad.

O'Neill, though, has come in and re-introduced Diouf straight back into the squad, with the forward being brought off the bench for his first appearance of the campaign to help the Potters see out their 4-2 win at Barnsley before the international break - and he came off the bench again on Saturday to net the vital late winner in Stoke's 2-1 win against Wigan Athletic.

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Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel, Macari suggested that he could not understand why Diouf had been frozen out under Jones, and that O'Neill has shown his man management ability by recalling him to the squad, saying: "I’m not pretending he’s a world beater, but he clearly has his strengths and I’d have thought there was a use for them before now.

"But Michael O’Neill has come in and it struck me from the off that he put Diouf on the bench in his first game at Barnsley when the player had been nowhere near the first team before that.

"Common sense management - and management is about common sense. Your job is to get the best out of players and hope they repay you one day.

"Doesn’t always happen, of course, but it’s nice when it does.

"I just couldn’t understand why Diouf had been treated like an outcast before O’Neill arrived, it just didn’t make any sense, not when you’re struggling for results and when there is no apparent problem with the player behind the scenes."

The Verdict

Macari is right to suggest that O'Neill's decision to recall Diouf to Stoke's first team squad has been a very wise move, with the 31-year-old helping to add an extra option to the Potters' attack and his faith in the striker has been rewarded instantly with him coming on to score the winner against Wigan.

Diouf should arguably have been given more chances by Jones during the first few months of the season, with none of the likes Gregory, Campbell, Vokes and Hogan in prolific form in front of goal, while the 31-year-old also offers more of an ability to run the channels than some of the Potters' other forward options.

The striker is the sort of player that O'Neill likes to have operating up front, and if he can manage to improve his match fitness in the next few weeks, then Diouf could well manage to establish himself as a starter under the 50-year-old, which would represent an excellent turnaround from what his situation was only a month ago.