Magennis determined to get back in NI squad

JOSH Magennis has opened up about a heart-to-heart with Michael O'Neill that convinced him to continue his international career with Northern Ireland.

- by STEVEN CRAWFORD

The 34-year-old Exeter City striker had been mulling over his future in the national team after being omit-ted from the squad for the friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden in March, prompting him to seek clar-ity on his role from O'Neill.

Magennis expressed his relief at the outcome of their discussion, saying, “That’s what I wanted to speak to Michael about the most,” and revealing his determination to avoid an unceremonious end to his inter-national days.

“I was like, ‘if we're going to get to the stage where you don’t feel I can perform or I can contribute to your team, not a problem. That’s no prob-lem at all.”

He continued by stressing his desire for transparency and respect regarding his potential retirement: “But I didn’t want to get to the stage where we were sugarcoating it. I said, if you want me to retire or you think that I should retire, just let me know so I can do it the right way.”