Alan Mannus believes his old St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright will be at the “very top of the list” to be the next Northern Ireland boss.
The IFA are in the process of identifying their replacement for Michael O’Neill, who had planned to take charge of the Euro 2020 play-offs a few days ago then leave to focus entirely on his club job at Stoke City.
The games against Bosnia, and potentially then the Republic of Ireland or Slovakia, have now been put on hold indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning the O’Neill era is almost certainly over.
That will focus minds at Windsor Park and Mannus, a former goalkeeper for his country and a Scottish Cup winner with Saints, believes Wright’s credentials give him a strong chance of being next in line.
“You’ve seen managers from similar size clubs who have got opportunities,” said the Shamrock Rovers goalie. “The likes of Alex Neil.
“He deserved his chance in England but at that Tommy had done a lot more.
“The IFA will have Tommy at the very top of the list – maybe him and one or two others.
“They will definitely be well aware of what he’s done. He played for Northern Ireland, captained Northern Ireland and has coached with the national team as well.
“Everyone in the game knows him over here and thinks very highly of him.”
Wright’s rivals are understood to be Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson, Northern Ireland under-21 coach Ian Baraclough and former Ipswich boss Jim Magilton.
