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Ian Baraclough has been sacked as Northern Ireland manager after a grim Nations League crusade saw enthusiastic opponents of the 51-year-old.
The decision was made at a meeting of the Irish FA’s board of directors on Thursday evening and came after Baraclough’s side picked up just five problems out of 18 imaginable in their League C side, finding themselves suffering relegation in September in a crusade in which they had targeted promotion.
Patrick Nelson, Managing Director of the Irish FA, said: “Under Ian’s leadership, we have noticed the arrival of new players who will wear the shirt with pride for years to come and for that we express our gratitude.
“However, in light of the overall assessment of the effects on the ground, the Irish Federation Board made this decision. “
Baraclough stepped down from his role with the Northern Ireland Under-21s to update Michael O’Neill in June 2020, but managed to win six of his 28 games in charge, plus a penalty shootout win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. and missed qualification for Euro 2020 final late due to Covid and this year’s World Cup.
But he was successful for much of his tenure, bringing in players from the Under-21s. It was the League of Nations that entrusted the former boss of Scunthorpe and Motherwell with his job.
Northern Ireland enthusiasts turned anti-Baraclough in June, when disappointment at home and away from Cyprus was accompanied by a home defeat to Greece and a defeat away from Kosovo.
Their last match was a 3-1 loss to Greece in Athens last month, leaving Northern Ireland dependent on Kosovo’s victory over Cyprus to avoid relegation to League D. After the game, veteran players, adding captain Steven Davis and vice-captain Jonny Evans, subsidized Baraclough to turn things around.
Baraclough attended this month’s draw for Euro 2024 qualifiers, in which Top Five seed Northern Ireland secured a favourable draw against Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan and San Marino.
In December last year, Baraclough signed a two-year contract extension to take him to Euro 2024, with the promise that it would be extended if Northern Ireland qualified for the final.
However, there have been reports that the IFA board is divided over the long term and this came to a head on Thursday night.