St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright a 'great candidate' for Northern Ireland - Joe Shaughnessy
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Former and current St Johnstone captains Joe Shaughnessy and Jason Kerr
Tommy Wright is a "great candidate" for the Northern Ireland job, believes former St Johnstone captain Joe Shaughnessy.
The Saints boss is in the frame to replace Michael O'Neill, who is due to leave in March after taking charge of Stoke City.
Shaughnessy spent four years under the Belfast-born Wright in Perth.
"He'd do a good job with no budget there like he has at St Johnstone," Shaughnessy told BBC Scotland.
Shaughnessy, who has been capped at under-21 level for Republic of Ireland, made the move from the McDiarmid Park side down south to play in League One for Southend United in July.
"He's never made any secret that is the job he would love to do," Shaughnessy said of his former boss.
"Everyone in the Northern Ireland squad would welcome him. He's worked with a lot of them before."
St Johnstone are currently sitting 11th in the Scottish Premiership and welcome another of Shaughnessy's former clubs, Aberdeen, to Perth on Sunday.
"When I was at St Johnstone, we always went through a rough patch when we weren't getting the results mid-season," he said.
"Unfortunately, the bad patch came at the start of the season this time. We always managed to turn it around and the manager knows how to dig in and get back in the game. He has the know-how to do that sort of thing. I'd be confident he can turn it around."
He added: "A few experienced guys left in the summer, Richard Foster and myself for example, so it is a big turnaround for the club. There are younger guys playing now and they still need to learn.
"The one thing they are missing is a bit of experience. In games where it is tight, you are trying to get stuck in at the last 10 minutes to shut up shop. The young guys need to push more for that, and maybe adjusting to the experienced guys leaving is the issue."