Craig Bellamy on Match of the Day Wales:
“It’s the first time in 18 games that I had to have a go. I didn’t like that I had to do that.
“We were passive in the first half, passing side to side, that was not us.
“We needed to make a change, nothing on the lads that came off but we need that little movement. Still needed more but we’ll take that after that first half. We caused our own problems.
“We cannot waste a game, it can be a reminder to them on if they want to feel sorry for themselves they can play like this.
“We can’t keep dwelling on last week, it’s as simple as that. In life you have to let go and if they don’t, I’ve not done my job properly.
“I’ll take a good week and a bit off. This was hard to take and hurts a lot.
“The supporters were amazing tonight, they turned up tonight so thank you. It was really appreciated.”
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill said, per BBC Sport: “The team has good resilience because at the end of the day, as much as we sat deep and it was difficult for us to get out in the last 20 minutes, we still had an opportunity to win the game.
“To come away, with the age profile of the team and where the team is at this minute at time, and not be beaten here was a real positive.”
O’Neill said it was “a good night’s work for us” as he “asked a huge amount” of young players in a second half, a debut for 19-year-old defender Tom Atcheson, but Liverpool’s Kieran Morrison didn’t feature.
“He’s a very young player. I think he’s shown up well in the camp all week,” O’Neill said on Atcheson.
“We would have liked to have got Kieran Morrison on the pitch as well at some point, but you wouldn’t have been able to do it without having to take a sub that you put on, off again, without asking someone to play in a position which was totally alien to them.
“Given the number of substitutions we made, we’re pleased with the response we got from the players.”
O’Neill also responded to clubs raising concerns about his dual role with Blackburn: “I was a little bit disappointed with that because I didn’t get a phone call from any of the managers.
“I didn’t get a phone call from anyone from their respective clubs.
“They felt whatever they decided to do, or what avenue they took to raise their concerns, it’s disappointing given that I’ve managed over 100 international games, and I’ve always put the players first.”
As reported by BBC Radio Oxford, Oxford United raised concerns with the EFL, of the four players from the club that were in the Northern Ireland squad, Brodie Spencer came on for fellow club team-mate Ciaron Brown 64 minutes in while goalscorer Jamie Donley was subbed off at the same time, and Jamie McDonnell didn’t feature.
Of Oxford’s other relegation rivals, Isaac Price of West Brom played 45 minutes, Pompey’s Terry Devlin was taken off with 10 minutes left on the clock.
O’Neill said he “doesn’t have a relationship” with the managers at other clubs that needed to be ironed out, said he would “always try to protect the players”.
“If I’m honest, I’m a little bit disappointed,” O’Neill added, who said he would never want Northern Ireland’s players to “affect their club situation”.
“These clubs, they ask for references on players, they ask for character references, level of performance from us and our staff when they want to sign these players.
“They were international players when they signed them. Now suddenly it becomes a bit of an issue that they’re international players.”
