Northern Ireland midfielder Isaac Price says the players in the squad are “buzzing” following the news last week that Michael O’Neill has agreed an extension to his contract to remain manager of the international team until 2032.
The NI boss rejected overtures from Championship side Blackburn Rovers to manage the club on a permanent basis after guiding the Lancashire outfit to safety while combining that interim role with being at the helm with Northern Ireland.
O’Neill will lead his team into the forthcoming friendlies against Guinea on Thursday and France on Monday, 8 June, as the squad prepare for the start of a Nations League campaign in September.
Price credits O’Neill as being a major influence on his career to date, the NI manager having drafted the now 22-year-old into his senior squad for the first time when he was still a teenager in 2023.
“He went to Blackburn and did a job for them there. We were a little bit nervous that maybe he might have took a club role on full-time but I think everyone’s buzzing,” said Price after joining up with the squad for the upcoming friendly double-header.
“We all love playing for him and especially for me he’s probably been the main manager that I’ve had since I started playing first-team football.
“He trusted me, he threw me in when I wasn’t playing any real senior games at club level.
“He’s got a good group of players here. They’re all young and I think he’s probably excited to keep working with us.”
