Stoke City manager Michael O’Neill has not ruled out the prospect of remaining in charge of the Northern Ireland national team for the European Championships, even if the tournament is delayed from this summer.

He took over at the bet365 Stadium back in early November and has helped to transform the Potters into a side capable of picking up wins on a consistent basis, which has seen the club climb from bottom of the table all the way up to 17th place, with a three point cushion to the bottom three.

O’Neill, though, has also remained in charge of the Northern Ireland national team for their qualification campaign for the European Championships, and he has guided them to a play-off with Bosnia and Herzegovina, although given the suspension to the season it could mean that the Euros potentially get moved back to a later date should they qualify.

QUIZ: Can you name these 15 ex-Stoke City centre-backs?

Speaking to Sky Sports, O’Neill did not rule out the prospect of continuing to lead Northern Ireland even if the Euros are delayed, but also suggested he is just hoping to leave the job on a positive note having managed to transform the nation’s fortunes on the field during his time in charge.

"I didn't want a fanfare or a lot of honours. What I can look back on is eight years of a lot of hard work. We had a very difficult time at the start to try and turn things around, it was a slow-burner, it was never going to happen overnight.

"I'll take away the memories of France 2016 and the qualification. For a lot of people France was their first opportunity to see Northern Ireland in a major tournament and we've got the chance to do that again."

The verdict

O’Neill has undoubtedly managed to perform an excellent job of juggling between both the Stoke and Northern Ireland jobs throughout the last few months, which has been helped by a prolonged period without an international fixture since the turn of the year.

That has enabled him to really focus on matters on the field with Stoke, and the Potters have found he rewards for that with them winning ten of his 22 matches in charge so far, which has seen them recover from what was a desperately poor start to the Championship season.

However, the remit always was that his sole focus would be on Stoke for the start of next season, when he had finished his role with Northern Ireland whether they had reached the Euros or not, but now it could be that if the tournament is delayed by a significant amount of time he could continue to juggle between both jobs.

It will therefore be interesting to see what happens with O’Neill’s situation depending on whether Northern Ireland manage to reach the Euros and whether the finals are delayed until as late as next year, which would leave him with a real dilemma to face.