Northern Ireland are in danger of being relegated to League C of the UEFA Nations League after a 1-0 loss in Austria, but manager Michael O’Neill was not overly concerned.
West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic condemned O’Neill’s men to a second defeat in League B’s Group Three on Friday night in Vienna.
Arnautovic’s goal in the 71st minute gave the Austrian’s a 1-0 win, leaving Northern Ireland propping up the group ahead of Monday’s meeting with Bosnia in Sarajevo.
O’Neill said: “We’re obviously disappointed to lose a tough game, a physical game.
“We had to match Austria physically and I just felt on the night we got a foothold in the game, we had the better chances and we didn’t take them and then we were punished.
“It was a poor goal for us to lose, we missed two tackles in the middle of the pitch and then Arnautovic pulls on to the full-back area and is played through. It was a quality finish from a quality player, but then we hit the post after that.
O’Neill admitted the result left his side in a relegation fight in the competition, but denied that should be a worry.
“There’s three teams in the group and we’re bottom, so yeah,” he said. “But what’s the significance of relegation in this competition?