Sanchez stands by Northern Ireland
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Article summary
Lawrie Sanchez will continue as Northern Ireland manager despite being hired to lead English Premiership side Fulham FC for the rest of the season.
Article body
Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez will continue in his role despite being appointed to lead English Premiership side Fulham FC for the remaining five games of the season.
Official approach
Sanchez agreed to take over at the London club on a temporary basis following the dismissal of manager Chris Coleman last night, but the Irish Football Association (IFA) has insisted that the club made an appropriate approach to them and that Sanchez would honour his commitment to lead Northern Ireland until the end of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying. The Group F leaders, who surprisingly sit above Sweden, Spain and Denmark with four wins and a draw from six games, have no qualifying games until they take on Liechtenstein at home on 22 August.
Boyce honoured
IFA president Jim Boyce said: "This reflects well on the IFA and the outstanding job Lawrie has done for Northern Ireland football and we wish both him and Fulham well for those matches ahead. He has pitted his ability against some of the world's best managers over the past few months with excellent wins against some of the leading countries including England, Spain and Sweden, so it is hardly surprising that a Premier League club would be interested in engaging him. We will monitor the situation as it progresses and will keep in contact with Fulham FC in the process."