Michael O'Neill: Manager's Northern Ireland return 'exciting for everyone' - Aaron Hughes
- Published
Aaron Hughes celebrates his team's second goal in the 2-0 win over Ukraine at Euro 2016 with NI manager Michael O'Neill
Irish FA technical director Aaron Hughes says the widely welcomed return of Michael O'Neill as Northern Ireland manager is "exciting for everyone".
The appointment of O'Neill, who guided NI to the Euro 2016 finals in France, was confirmed last week, just one month after Hughes was announced in his role.
"Michael's appointment is huge. It's given everyone a real lift, seeing the reaction it has got already," he said.
"When I was consulted I was very positive around the whole thing."
O'Neill will lead Northern Ireland into the forthcoming Euro 2024 qualification campaign as part of a five-and-a-half-year deal with the Irish FA.
He previously managed the team from the end of 2011 to 2020, before leaving to concentrate fully on managing Championship side Stoke City, with Ian Baraclough named as his replacement.
Baraclough was sacked in October, two months after O'Neill suffered a similar fate at Stoke, opening the way for the latter's return to the post he occupied for over eight years.
Former NI captain Hughes played under O'Neill as part of a senior international career which saw him rack up 112 caps, before retiring in 2019.
He joined the IFA last year as an elite football development consultant, before assuming the role of technical director as part of the IFA's senior leadership team.
"I'm delighted we were able to bring Michael back. It shows there is an ambition to get better and get the best out of ourselves," Hughes told BBC Sport NI.
"Michael's appointment gives us that immediate impact. If you're looking at qualification over the next couple of years we're bringing in someone who is experienced, who knows the environment, the players and what it takes to get to a major tournament.
"Also that strategic mind that I'm looking forward to working alongside and tapping into.
"We're not just looking for that instant success but how we build that right through, not just in the men's team but also build on the success the women have had."
'Giving players the best experience we can'
Watch: Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill on Billy Bingham and Euro 2028
With players born in Northern Ireland eligible to play for either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, player eligibility is one area that Hughes will help address in his new role.
"We have a lot to sell so we need to showcase that and explore where we could do better," said the former Newcastle United, Fulham and Aston Villa defender.
"Eligibility is crucial because we're not a nation of 40m people where we can afford to miss players.
"We need to make sure we get our own product as good as it can be and give players the best possible experience that we can.
"You can't control certain things so our focus will be very much on ourselves, making our scouting system as robust as it can be and making sure the players we have don't want to leave."
'Passionate and excited about new role'
Hughes is relishing the challenge of having responsibility for aiding the development of the game in his native country "from the senior team to grassroots and everything in between".
"Football has been my life and Northern Ireland has been a big part of that. This keeps me involved in a different role," said the 43-year-old.
"When you are a player it's all about the here and now but this is different, wider ranging and the opportunity to have an influence on the short term and longer term, a chance to contribute to something that's way bigger.
"That's something I'm passionate about and excited about, making football better across the country so that's in the best place it can be, including in the underage and development side of the game."
'National Training Centre a priority'
National Training Centre key to developing game in Northern Ireland - Hughes
"The National Training Centre is a priority for us," he added. "We're crying out for our own facility to create a culture and build a level of excellence, not just the facility and pitches, but the feeling it creates, bringing everyone together.
"It will definitely happen because we need it but the timescale is a more difficult question as it's something we are working on.
"I think it's important we get it right and don't rush it because we need it. Even if it takes that little bit longer to ask the right questions and look at what we need to do, engage with the right people and look at some good examples from elsewhere."
O'Neill has already indicated that Jimmy Nicholl will remain part of his backroom team but a possible role for Hughes among the coaching set-up has also been mooted as a possibility.
"I'm not sure about that. Time comes into it but those are conversations to be had," said Hughes.
"My priority is to be a technical director and all that that entails. If that allows me to be involved here and there in elements of coaching that would be great."