Stoke City have confirmed that Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill has been appointed as the club's new manager.

The 50-year-old has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at the bet365 Stadium and replaces Nathan Jones, who was sacked last week following a poor start to the season in the Championship.

Stoke are currently bottom of the Championship table, six points from safety, and face huge game against relegation rivals Barnsley tomorrow.

The club have confirmed that O'Neill will be in charge of the team for the bottom-of-the-table clash at Oakwell, after he oversaw his first training session at the club this morning.

O'Neill has never managed in the Championship before, but his appointment at Stoke follows a hugely successful eight-year spell in charge of the Northern Ireland national team.

Stoke have also confirmed that O'Neill will take charge of Northern Ireland for their final two Euro 2020 qualifiers against Holland and Germany later this month.

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The Verdict

I think this could be a good appointment for the Stoke. Even though O'Neill has never managed in the Championship before, he should be experienced enough to adapt to the challenges that come with taking charge of a club at that level.

Stoke are in a bit of a downward spiral at the moment, so this appointment will be a huge challenge for O'Neill, but he could be the right man for the job.

He's done a fantastic job with Northern Ireland over the past few years and he could have what it takes to get the best out of the Stoke players and help the team get their season back on track.