Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill has played down fans' worries over moving from international to club management.

The 50-year-old was appointed as Nathan Jones' successor last Friday, leaving his role as manager of Northern Ireland after an eight-year tenure.

O'Neill made a perfect start to life as manager of the Potters at the weekend, defeating relegation-threatened rivals Barnsley by four goals to two at Oakwell.

Stoke still sit 23rd in the Sky Bet Championship table and sit three points adrift of safety after their win in Yorkshire, and they will be looking to kick on and pick up a win over Wigan this weekend.

Upon O'Neill's appointment at the bet365 Stadium, plenty of fans feared his ability to switch his managerial style from international football to club football.

Before becoming the manager of Northern Ireland, O'Neill spent time in charge of Brechin City and Shamrock Rovers, winning two successive league titles in 2010 and 2011.

Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel regarding those fears, the manager said: "People say that, but I did manage a club to two league titles in the League of Ireland and to the Europa League group stages.

"So I did deal with 60 games-a-season. I think a lot of people talk about the Championship and Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday, but I dealt with international football.

"For example this week, I’m going to play Holland and play Germany in the space of three days. So I think I’ll be ok in the Championship, to be honest."

The Verdict

I must admit, I had my worries when O'Neill took charge of Stoke, but if his first game in charge is anything to go by, he has the respect of the players already.

They simply had to win against Barnsley at the weekend, because if they didn't, they would have given themselves a massive uphill battle to get out of the relegation zone.

But they won the game which makes it the perfect start for O'Neill, but that's all it is, a start. They need to find some consistency in their game and they need to find a rhythm to their play.