Michael O'Neill to remain as Northern Ireland boss
The 56 year-old has turned down the chance to become permanent Blackburn manager
Michael O'Neill is to continue in his role as Northern Ireland manager, bringing to an end to uncertainty around his future.
O'Neill was appointed interim boss of EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers in February, combining the position with his international role.
The Ballymena native drew five and lost five of his 15 games in charge of Blackburn to help them avoid relegation to League One - and the Lancashire club was keen to make the arrangement a permanent one.
However, on Tuesday afternoon the Irish Football Association confirmed that O'Neill would be continuing in his international post.
In a statement, the Irish FA said: "We are delighted Michael has decided to stay on as Northern Ireland senior men’s manager.
"He has built another exciting squad of players and we now look forward to building on this momentum as we plan for both the UEFA Nations League campaign this autumn and the subsequent qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2028 with Michael at the helm."
O’Neill, who returned to the Northern Ireland job for a second spell in December 2022, said he had 'thoroughly enjoyed' his time working with Blackburn but that his focus is now on planning towards the future with the international side.
"After careful consideration, I have decided that my long-term focus must remain with Northern Ireland and the journey towards the European Championship campaign ahead.
"I would like to thank the Blackburn owners, board, staff, players and supporters for the welcome and support shown to me during my time at the club."
O'Neill famously led Northern Ireland to a first-ever European Championship finals in 2016, reaching the last 16 before bowing out to eventual semi-finalists Wales.
In March, Northern Ireland's hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup were ended with defeat to Italy in a play-off semi-final.
Ahead of the Nations League campaign getting underway in September, Northern Ireland will play a pair of friendlies in June against Guinea in Cadiz and France in Lyon.
O'Neill's side have been drawn against Hungary, Georgia and Ukraine in Nations League Group B2.