Northern Ireland v Montenegro: Tanya Oxtoby ready for play-off after 'baptism of fire'

Tanya Oxtoby was named Northern Ireland manager in August after leaving Chelsea

Tanya Oxtoby says her time as Northern Ireland manager has been a "baptism of fire" and she is "excited" to see how her team progresses in 2024.

The Australian, who took over as NI boss in August, was speaking ahead of Friday's Nations League play-off first leg against Montenegro.

Northern Ireland are looking to retain their place in League B while Montenegro hope to earn promotion.

The second leg will be played at Windsor Park in Belfast on 27 February.

When asked how she has progressed as an international manager since taking over the hot seat, Oxtoby said: "Yeah, it's been a baptism of fire for sure.

"I know the players better now. I know their strengths and some of their motivations and background stories.

"That's really important if you want to try and get the best out of players. So from that point of view, you know, that time has been really well invested and I trust this group.

"I can see that we're heading in the right direction and I'm excited to see how they go in 2024."

'We need to embrace pressure'

While Northern Ireland will be favourites to retain their League B status, Montenegro will be no pushovers and showed promising form in Group C3 despite being ranked 91st in the world.

Montenegro's only two defeats in the Nations League came at the hands of group winners Azerbaijan, while Northern Ireland had an up-and-down campaign in the tier above.

For context, the Republic of Ireland defeated Montenegro 3-0 and 2-0 in Euro 2022 qualifying and the Montenegrins will be looking for a scalp against Oxtoby's side.

"They're going to be a really physical side. They've got some really creative players that can hurt you in transition," the 41-year-old said.

"We need to make sure that we are controlling the game with and without the ball. That's really, really important.

"Footage has been hard to come by, so that's probably one of their strengths but we're prepared and we're ready.

"It's going to be a pressure game but we're ready for it and we want to embrace it".

Northern Ireland lost 6-1 to the Republic of Ireland at Windsor Park in December

Oxtoby added her players "know what the task is" as they bid to retain their League B status, which will play a pivotal role in Euro 2025 qualification.

"We want to make sure that we're continuing to grow and implement our principles. Longer-term, we know what the goal is.

"These two games are like knockout football, so that is a privilege and it will hold us in good stead moving forward.

"I want to win both games. There's always an element of the stuff you can't control when you're away from home so we need to be aware of that.

"We know what the different scenarios are but my job now is just to make sure we win these two games and hopefully go with strategy A.

"We will end up finishing where we deserve to finish. So if we don't perform in these two games then we'd be pretty disappointed. Hopefully, the result and our status will take care of itself as well."

'We want to be competing'

Northern Ireland ended their League B campaign with a disappointing 6-1 defeat at home to the Republic of Ireland at Windsor Park. Oxtoby admitted she was disappointed with the result but a break over Christmas has allowed her to reflect and she is refreshed and ready to go.

"We wanted to play the Republic at Windsor because we wanted to know where we're at and we've always said that they're probably well ahead of us in terms of their journey.

"That's where we want to be, competing at major tournaments and not just making up the numbers.

"We know the areas we need to improve on and we had a good idea of where our baseline was, but now it's confirmed.

"We also know where we want to be so our job now is to make sure we're building towards our goals."

Tanya Oxtoby was Emma Hayes' assistant at Chelsea before becoming Northern Ireland manager

Back to Oxtoby as a manager. Given she only retired in 2012 and has been involved in Chelsea's dressing room, does she see herself as a players' manager?

"I don't know about that. Maybe ask the players what they think," Oxtoby said with a smile.

"I think they would tell you that I'm never happy in terms of I always want more from them, but I also care about them as people.

"That's important because we've got a really unique group and their situations are unique. We need to make sure that we're supporting them as best we can as well.

"So maybe from that point of view, yes.

"But if you ask Marissa [Callaghan, Northern Ireland captain], she'll say I always want more."