Sanchez keen on Northern Ireland return

(GETTY IMAGES)

Former Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez says he would jump at the chance of taking up the role again, if Nigel Worthington doesn’t sign a new deal.

Sanchez, who jumped ship himself midway through the Euro 2008 qualifiers to take up a job at Fulham, claimed he had unfinished business with Northern Ireland.

Current international boss Worthington has yet to put pen to paper on a new contract, though neither he or the IFA have stated that there are any problems surrounding that impasse.

However, Worthington has been heavily linked with the vacant job at Sheffield Wednesday.

And Sanchez took a potshot at his successor, claiming his fourth placed finish in the World Cup qualifying campaign didn’t put him in a position to ‘play hardball’.

“Nigel seems to be playing a bit of hardball with the IFA and he's a brave man having finished fourth in the World Cup qualifying group,” he said.

On the possibility of returning to Northern Ireland, Sanchez added: “If the job became available I would certainly be interested as I'd like to finish off what I started. I have been out of action for a couple of years now but I would still like to manage again and I believe I can do a good job at a high level, be that at international level or a high club level.

“The fact that I left Northern Ireland at the time that I did is the one major regret of my managerial career.

“I believe we would have qualified but I guess I wondered about how it would have been received by the IFA and the media in Northern Ireland if we had got so close and then failed and my contract was about to run out.”

And in another slight at Worthington’s record in the qualifying campaign, he said: “Nigel was given the job on a slightly larger contract than I was on and I'm surprised that finishing fourth in the World Cup campaign is regarded as quite good or acceptable.

“If I'd finished fourth I don't think I'd have been offered a new contract, never mind holding out for a better one.”

Sourced from: The Belfast Telegraph