Ian Baraclough has been sacked as manager of Northern Ireland after narrowly avoiding relegation to the bottom tier of the Nations League.
Baraclough has lost 14 of his 28 games in charge, beating only Lithuania, Kosovo, Estonia, Malta and Luxembourg during his two-year reign.
Despite that, the former Scunthorpe manager began his tenure helping his adopted country to the cusp of qualifying for Euro 2020, taking over after Michael O’Neill had led them into the play-offs through the Nations League before they were beaten by Slovakia in extra time of the final.
It took 11 games and almost a year in charge before Baraclough tasted victory over 90 minutes, and managing just two wins over Lithuania in World Cup 2022 qualifying saw them finish seven points off a play-off place.
Things were little better in the Nations League, where he oversaw Northern Ireland’s relegation from League B in 2020/21, before they only avoided back-to-back demotions in League C by finishing ahead of Cyrus on goal difference.
The Irish Football Association now have time on their side to choose their new manager ahead of their next game, a trip to San Marino in Euro 2024 qualifying, which is more than five months away in March 2023.
Northern Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign:
San Marino vs Northern Ireland – March 23, 2023
Northern Ireland vs Finland – March 26, 2023
Denmark vs Northern Ireland – June 16, 2023
Northern Ireland vs Kazakhstan – June 19, 2023
Slovenia vs Northern Ireland – September 7, 2023
Kazakhstan vs Northern Ireland – September 10, 2023
Northern Ireland vs San Marino – October 14, 2023
Northern Ireland vs Slovenia – October 17, 2023
Finland vs Northern Ireland – November 17, 2023
Northern Ireland vs Denmark – November 20, 2023
