There was a time when it looked like O’Neill, who doubled up briefly for club and country, could send his own player crashing down into League One
Isaac Price explains cheeky text to Michael O'Neill amid relegation battle and the reasons why boss committed to Northern Ireland There was a time when it looked like O’Neill, who doubled up briefly for club and country, could send his own player crashing down into League OnePrice found himself in an unusual situation of facing his international boss in a high-stakes Championship clash just a week after the World Cup play-offs.
The game ended scoreless and both clubs managed to avoid the drop, with the Baggies finishing one place outside the relegation zone and Blackburn a point above them. Price said: “I just gave him a quick text before the game saying, ‘You wouldn’t let us win this one, would you? ’. He said no, unfortunately.
“It’s obviously a little bit weird. You go from him being your national team manager to playing against him the following week, and we were both in difficult positions.
“But I think Michael showed what sort of manager he is when he managed to keep them safe. He did a great job for them over six months. ” O’Neill’s decision to take the Blackburn job in February, just over a month away from the World Cup play-offs, sparked fears that he could step down as Northern Ireland manager for a second time.
And he is back on international duty this week, ahead of Thursday’s friendly against Guinea in Spain and next Monday’s clash against World Cup favourites France.
“Obviously the France one, you are playing against the best players in the world in a big stadium,” said midfielder Price. “They are going to be at home just before they go to a World Cup, and they’ll be going to the World Cup looking to win it. “I think all the lads are really excited. We’ve got a few days training, then we play Guinea on Thursday, and then the big one.
” As for his relief at seeing O’Neill at the helm once again, he admitted: “We were probably a bit nervous that maybe he would have taken on a club role on full-time.
“But I think everyone is buzzing. We all love playing for him. Especially for me, he’s been the main manager I’ve had since I started playing first-team football.
“I think he’s got a good group of players here. They are all young. He’s probably excited to keep working for us.
“I’ve been playing three years now and we are only getting better, the players are only getting better. I think it’s exciting for us and him. ” Price is delighted to be back in camp after the disappointment of missing out on World Cup qualification. A 2-0 defeat away to Italy put that dream to bed - and then the Italians went on to lose to Bosnia in the decider.
“I think after March there was a real low in the squad. It’s tough when you have that belief, and I think we definitely did have that belief that we could win those two games,” said the 22-year-old.
“And I feel like we pushed Italy to a pretty good game. But two games now, there’s nothing better for us, you just want to get back playing again and building for future tournaments.
“We’ve got the Nations League in September and October where it'll be a longer camp. But I think the lads are all buzzing to be back and we can’t wait to play the two games. ”Getting back onto the international stage is a nice way to finish off what Price described as “a pretty stressful season”, as West Brom flirted with relegation.
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