Sanchez, who allegedly offered his resignation verbally to Howard Wells, the chief executive of the IFA, on Wednesday indicated to Boyce that he could be set to reconsider his decision. Yesterday, Sanchez gave his final answer in a statement yesterday afternoon, making clear his intention “to continue in my role for the remainder of my contract.
“Criticism is part and parcel of football,” said Sanchez in reference to the brickbats that rained in following last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Iceland, “but some of the criticism has been out of all proportion, especially when considering the team had not won for 15 matches and had failed to score in 1,298 minutes before I took over.
“It led me to question whether I wanted to continue as Northern Ireland manager and if the team could continue to make such progress in this climate of negativity.”
Sanchez said he was astonished by “the level and ferocity of the criticism from certain sections of the media” toward him and his team.
“Certainly, the Northern Ireland team deserve more respect for what we have achieved and the progress that has been made these past three seasons,” he said.
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This was his first public comment since he made a dramatic departure on Wednesday from Windsor Park. His anger at sections of the local media for the way to the defeat to Iceland four days earlier was blatantly apparent, even in the throes of his private grief following the death of his mother-in-law, forcing the IFA to acknowledge a separate “problem” which will need to be addressed in the coming week. All of this had left David Healy, whose three goals against Spain had sealed one of the most remarkable results in Irish football history, feeling the need to issue a plea to Sanchez through his column in the Belfast Telegraph.
“We are a nation on the up in football terms and it is Lawrie Sanchez who is behind that improvement. I know all the players want to keep it going and obviously the fans want to see us progress. We can do that with Lawrie.”
Ironically, some of the most strident criticism had appeared in the pages of the Telegraph. Steven Beacom, the sports editor, wrote last Monday: “The biggest high — arguably of all time — came when Sanchez’s team beat England last year. The biggest low came on Saturday. It takes a lot to make Northern Ireland fans jeer their own team but that’s exactly what they did at half-time following an abject defensive display from the men in green. Iceland have the superb Eidur Gudjohnsen, but a group of lads from Supervalu could have scored against Sanchez’s side.”
The Telegraph was not alone in condemnation that left Sanchez turning over in his mind the vagaries of his job and the lapses in memory and perspective of his detractors. Since taking over from Sammy McIlroy in 2004, Sanchez has orchestrated Northern Ireland’s climb from 124 in the FIFA rankings to 72. Last Wednesday’s win over Spain was a triumph for honest endeavour and rugged indefatigability. But when Sanchez lobbed his IFA tie and jacket in among the joyous throng at the final whistle, then declined to appear at the obligatory post-match press conference, a sad story began to take shape. One of the great nights in Northern Ireland’s history was instantly transformed by a most unpredictable plot.
Sources of strain had recently arisen. Not a universally popular choice when appointed as McIlroy’s successor, Sanchez curried no favour when his name was linked to a number of jobs in English club football. Suggestions that players were not being adequately remunerated for their commitment to the cause, aired during the summer tour to the USA, were met by a sharp rebuttal from the IFA. Boyce announced on the eve of this qualifying campaign that the players would share in a pool of £1m if they reached a major finals for the first time in 20 years.
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Tensions with the media surfaced when they were based in a separate hotel away from the team on the recent trip to Finland. It will be interesting to see how he renews his relationship with the media and how the events of the past few days will affect his standing with the IFA and the Northern Ireland supporters. Among the players there is no ambiguity. “He is a very calm man and does not show much emotion but when people are constantly having a go at you, of course, it will hurt,” said Healy. “Ahead of the Spain game he told us what was expected of us and we were desperate to deliver for him.”
They did — and how.