'It's your own fault' - Blackburn Rovers boss Michael O'Neill delivers blunt message to Portsmouth, Oxford and Leicester
Michael O’Neill has come out fighting after ‘one or more’ Championship clubs questioned his integrity during the international break
Michael O’Neill has delivered a blunt message to those who questioned his integrity last week.
The Blackburn Rovers boss, whose dual roles at Ewood Park and the Northern Ireland international team created a lot of ‘noise’ during the international break, has told his relegation rivals they’ve no-one to blame for their sides’ current predicements than themselves.
And he advised them to get their own houses in order before looking elsewhere for a scapegoat.
O’Neill: I can’t affect it anymore
Second-from-bottom Oxford United are understood to have been one of the clubs who raised concerns about O’Neill’s current responsibilies and a potential conflict of interest with the Football League.
Pompey boss John Mousinho was asked about it in the build-up to the Blues’ game against Norwich. But while he made it clear he has no issue with the Rovers manager, the Fratton Park head coach queried how the EFL had allowed the second-tier relegation battle to be, in his eyes, potentially compromised by calls made by O’Neill on the international stage.
Terry Devlin, the U’s’ Brodie Spence, Jamie Donley and Ciaron Brown, and West Brom’s Isaac Price were among those asked to play in the second of Northern Ireland’s fixtures during the international break, just three days before their club’s latest battles at the foot of the Championship table.
All bar Spencer were named in their side’s respective line-ups for their first games back on the domestic scene - as was Rovers Tom Atcheson, who made his international debut for Northern Ireland in their friendly draw with Wales on Tuesday night.
However, after watching his side move six points clear of the relegation zone after a 1-0 win at Birmingham on Good Friday, O’Neill welcomed the fact that he can no longer be partly to blame, in some people’s opinions, for his rivals’ current troubles.
And he told them the onus was on them to get themselves away from danger.
Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, the 56-year-old said: ‘Well, I can't affect it anymore. Whatever the accusations were, I find it hard to believe really.
‘But, look, every club that's in this situation, they're in it because it's their own fault and we're no different.
‘We've had 40 games and we're in this situation because of the 40 games that we've played. So are Portsmouth, so are West Brom, so are Leicester, so are Oxford. You can throw Charlton in the mix, but I think they've probably got a little bit of breathing space.
‘So you have to get yourself out of it. You know what I mean? Not look around you, get yourself out of the situation and that's what we're trying to do.
‘Friday was a big lift in that. Every team has six games left and it's going to be very, very tight. But our focus, my focus, is just with my team and this group of players and the noise is exactly what you said. That's all it was. It was just noise.’
Relegation battle latest
Pompey have an excellent chance to put distance between them and the relegation zone when they play host to Oxford at Fratton Park on Sunday. The Blues sit one point and a place above the drop zone following their 1-1 draw at Norwich.
Third-from-bottom Leicester travel to already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday, while Blackburn welcome 20th-placed WBA to Ewood Park.