Ian Barraclough sacked as Northern Ireland manager
Baraclock lost 14 of their 28 games during their two-year reign, beating only Lithuania, Kosovo, Estonia, Malta and Luxembourg.
Despite this, the former Scunthorpe manager began his tenure by helping his adopted nation qualify for Euro 2020, taking over after Michael O’Neill guided them through the play-offs through the Nations League before losing further to Slovakia. Last time.
It took 11 games and nearly a year for Baraclock to taste success within 90 minutes, managing just two wins against Lithuania in 2022 World Cup qualifiers to leave them seven points adrift of a stopping place.
Things didn’t fare much better in the Nations League, where he oversaw Northern Ireland’s relegation from League B in 2020/21, finishing ahead of Cyrus on goal difference before avoiding back-to-back League C relegations.
With a trip to San Marino in the Euro 2024 qualifiers just over five months away in March 2023, the Irish Football Association now has time to choose a new manager ahead of the next fixture.
Northern Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign:
San Marino vs Northern Ireland – March 23, 2023
Northern Ireland vs Finland – March 26, 2023
Denmark vs Northern Ireland – June 16, 2023
Northern Ireland vs Kazakhstan – June 19, 2023
Slovenia vs Northern Ireland – September 7, 2023
Kazakhstan vs Northern Ireland – September 10, 2023
Northern Ireland vs San Marino – 14 October 2023
Northern Ireland vs Slovenia – October 17, 2023
Finland vs Northern Ireland – November 17, 2023
Northern Ireland vs Denmark – November 20, 2023
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