Stoke City and Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has insisted he has faced no conflict between the prospect of juggling both roles throughout the last few months.

O’Neill was brought in as Stoke’s new permanent manager back in November to replace Nathan Jones, but he decided to also reman in charge of the Northern Ireland international team, to help them continue their progress as they look to qualify for the Euros.

The Northern Irishman has managed to achieve positive outcomes with both of sides so far, having helped to guide the Potters out of the bottom three with ten wins from his 22 matches in charge, while he also taken the Green and White Army to the play-offs for a possible second successive qualification for the European Championships.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, O’Neill suggested that he has managed to cope with the challenges of juggling two demanding managerial challenges, but has also suggested that the re-adjustment back to club football has been a challenge at times.

"There has not been anything that has the equation of 'It's Northern Ireland or Stoke'.

"There is nothing that has conflicted, to be honest, and I kind of knew there wouldn't be because I knew that if I delegated well within the staff, trusted their views and opinions that it was manageable.

"November to March is the quietest part of an international manager's calendar and that has coincided with the period I've been in charge here. It wouldn't be doable if you were doing it September, October and November, that wouldn't be an option.

"That's been the most challenging thing for me because I try to be as detailed as possible in my preparations and sometimes in the Championship there isn't time.

"The other thing is, the Championship is about momentum, it's about keeping players' spirits as high as possible and how to deal with little runs of bad form. Everyone has them, what amounts to good consistent form in the Championship is different."

The verdict

O’Neill has undoubtedly managed to perform an excellent job during his time in charge of Stoke, with the Northern Irishman proving to have been a sound appointment by the Potters at a time when they were in real need of a lift having slumped to the bottom of the Championship table.

The Potters have been turned into a much more stable club on and off the field under O’Neill, with Stoke now having an identity and a style of play which suits their players and enables them to have a platform to pick up results on much more consistent basis.

Given that is exactly what O’Neill had managed to do with Northern Ireland during his eight-year spell in charge, that should come as little surprise, although there were some initial doubts over whether he could potentially juggle between both positions.

O’Neill, though, has shown commendable professionalism throughout the campaign, and his clam and composed managerial style had helped him manage to achieve success in both of his jobs, which perhaps raises optimism for what he can do when his sole focus is with the Potters.