Martin O' Neill has spoken publicly for the first time since his flirtation with the Stoke City managers job last week by releasing a video on the FAI's official Twitter page.
With many concerned how tenable O'Neill's position is with the Irish side after having his head so publicly turned, the former Celtic manager did not speak openly about the links to the Premier League club.
He did open up perhaps on the as yet unsigned contract he had previously agreed with the FAI in principle. When asked by the interviewer to give an update on his contract situation, O' Neill replied:
Yeah, that's been resolved, John [Delaney] and I have agreed terms and it's just a matter now of the lawyers looking over some sort of details and getting it signed up.
From there the Irish manager drew attention toward the "exciting times ahead" with the European Nations League draw to be held and the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
He also made reference to the upcoming friendlies as an opportunity to perhaps introduced some younger players "who are pretty hungry."
How well he can deflect concerns regarding his suitability for the role is as yet unclear. Of this 'everything is fine' statement, that horse bolted about a week ago.
You can watch what appears to be an extract from a longer interview yet to be released below.
Republic of Ireland Manager Martin O'Neill gives an update on his contract and looks ahead to 2018. #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/AzEiae5fe4
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) January 16, 2018
