Michael O’Neill declined the Scotland job purely for football reasons and not for the riches he will enjoy by staying with Northern Ireland, according to his former assistant Stephen Robinson who is currently in charge of Motherwell.
The Irish FA reputedly have a six-year contract on the table worth £4.8 million that dwarves the £2.4 million four-year deal the SFA were willing to pay.
Robinson, O’Neill’s lieutenant in the qualifying phase and the finals of Euro 2016, believes the pay gap was not the reason why the 48-year-old turned down the SFA on Monday; rather it was because O’Neill believes he can maintain his remarkable run in charge of Northern Ireland having been given commitment by his senior players.
Robinson said: “I’m sure he’s done it for football reasons, I wouldn’t imagine for a second that he’s done it for financial reasons. He believes he has unfinished business with Northern Ireland.
“I’m quite sure Michael will have spoken to the older lads in the squad. He’s done his due diligence and I’m pretty sure they will have given him an assurance they are going to play on.
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“He has so much respect from the players and the staff and if they are to play on then Michael staying would have been a huge part of their decision.
“These are the guys playing at the highest level in the squad. If he didn’t think he was able to qualify he probably wouldn’t still be there. He’s a talented man and I’m sure he’s done the best thing for his career and his family.”
While Stewart Regan, the SFA chief executive, made it clear from the outset that O’Neill was the No 1, and perhaps only, target to succeed Gordon Strachan, Robinson believes there was always a feeling in Northern Ireland that he would not jump ship.
He said: “The reaction back home is as you would expect, people are delighted. I think they were quietly confident of him staying and now it’s settled everyone can move on.
“Michael never at any stage said he wanted the Scotland job or that he was going to take it. He’s been very professional throughout.
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“He had the courtesy to go and speak to the SFA but obviously Scotland still need a manager while we have a very talented man in charge — and we’re delighted about that.
“It’s a massive boost to keep Michael given what’s he done for football in our country. He holds the key to the Irish FA and he literally runs it from top to bottom.
“He will have done a lot of soul-searching because it’s a massive honour that both Northern Ireland and Scotland both wanted him. It’s a big honour to be offered the chance to manage the Scotland national team. But he’s from Northern Ireland, he would feel a sense of loyalty and that would have been tugging away at his heart strings.”