Michael O'Neill: New Northern Ireland boss says eligibility will be 'extremely important' to progress
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Watch: Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill on Billy Bingham and Euro 2028
Michael O'Neill has said he is hoping to use the international eligibility rule to his advantage in his second spell as Northern Ireland manager.
O'Neill enjoyed a successful eight-year reign in charge of his country before leaving for Stoke City in 2019.
He has now returned as Ian Baraclough's replacement and said he hopes to pro-actively increase his player pool by continuing to identify those that are eligible to play even if they were not born in Northern Ireland, as he did during his first spell in charge.
"Eligibility is extremely important, there's no doubt about that," said the 53-year-old, who has signed a five and a half year contract with the Irish FA.
"You only have to look at some of the emerging nations in the World Cup. Eligibility is used a lot in those squads and they find some great players that way.
"It's important for us to be pro-active in that. You're always looking for that player who can make an instant improvement and eligibility provides that."
'It's an aggressive market'
O'Neill cited 19-year-old English-born Manchester City midfielder Shea Charles as a good example of the eligibility rule working in Northern Ireland's favour.
Charles, who can also play in defence, made his Northern Ireland debut against Greece in June after being recruited into the system and playing for various under-age Northern Ireland teams.
"We did a huge amount of work with Andy [Cousins, who was on O'Neill's coaching staff during his first spell]," he continued.
"Shea Charles and Isaac Price, that work was done from ages 14 to 16. You have to do that as an association if we are going to host a tournament in five years time [Northern Ireland are part of the UK-wide joint bid to host the 2028 Euros].
"A player who could be playing for us in that tournament might be 14 or 15 now. Just look at Jude Bellingham playing at the World Cup at 19 now, he's phenomenal."
Belfast-born Mark Sykes switched allegiance to the Republic of Ireland
While Charles, along with Dan Ballard and Dion Charles, is a positive example of the eligibility rules as far as Northern Ireland are concerned, the challenge for O'Neill is losing players born in Northern Ireland who opt to play for the Republic of Ireland.
Bristol City's Mark Sykes is the most recent high-profile example, with the Belfast-born midfielder having played for Northern Ireland up to under-21 level and being included in three of O'Neill's senior squads before switching allegiance to the Republic in 2020.
The 25-year-old made his senior Republic debut as a late substitute in November's friendly win over Malta, becoming the first Belfast-born player to represent the country in 76 years.
"We have to work hard at it [eligibility] because it is so competitive," O'Neill stressed.
"As we know, anyone that's eligible for us obviously will have the choice of the country that they're born in and they'll have the choice of the Republic of Ireland as well. So it's an aggressive market and we have to make sure that we're in it."