On Days Like These: The Incredible Autobiography of a Football Legend

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He became Republic of Ireland manager in 2013 and beat reigning world champions Germany in the process of qualifying for the 2016 UEFA European Championship - for only the third time in the nation's history, and the first time they ever made it to the second round. O'Neill moved into management and took the helm at Grantham Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest. You are going to West Ham and expecting to win, whereas the previous year trying to beat Bristol Rovers was a struggle. With Roy Keane as his assistant manager, he oversaw Ireland reaching the Euros for only the third time in their history.

Martin O’Neill is one of the most respected men in soccer, I grew up watching his Celtic side play and reach the UEFA cup final in 2003.

Photograph: Marc Aspland/News Licensing Martin O'Neill’s last job in football was at Nottingham Forest in 2019 and he has not given up hope of managing again.

He takes as much care telling the story of his period as manager of Wycombe Wanderers as he does his much more heralded spells in charge of Leicester City and Aston Villa. This is something of a whistle stop tour through the life of the author within the world of football so not entirely an autobiography but more a list of highlights and some lowlights. The management years were enjoyable enough, albeit he was sounding somewhat bitter about it by the end, but it's his playing years that I enjoyed reading about most.Yes, there is occasionally acerbic comment – one would surely expect no less – but an extraordinary career which scaled playing heights under Brian Clough before touching managerial greatness at Celtic and Leicester is depicted with an entertaining tone. Martin O’Neill has had one of the most incredible careers in football – winning European Cups, captaining his country at a world cup, and decades as a hugely successful manager. I got the impression that the book is either heavily edited or rushed, meaning that he was working to very tight deadlines. He captures this in a whistle-stop journey through 50 years in football and the reader is left in no doubt as to the underlying passion that fuels a glittering career whilst abbreviating some of his management roles.

It gets too similarly paced toward the managerial side of life and a brief, short sentence structure soon follows in what becomes a highlights reel. O'Neill has been one of the more interesting characters in football over the years and so it's no surprise that this is one of the better football autobiographies I have read. But Martin O'Neill makes for a delightful tour guide through his own time on and off the pitch, with the Nottingham Forest glory days raked over for the finer details, as is his experience in more recent times with the Republic of Ireland. He also speaks about managing the Republic of Ireland, and working alongside his mercurial assistant, Roy Keane.For the first time, Martin O'Neill reflects on one of the most varied and successful football careers in the British Isles.