Tuesday 6 September 2016 11:56, UK
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has played down a link to the vacant Hull position, and praised his side for their performance during a 2-2 draw with Serbia on Monday.
O'Neill has been one of the names in the frame for the Premier League club, who have placed Mike Phelan in charge on a temporary basis, but insists he is happy with the national team despite himself and assistant manager Roy Keane yet to sign new two-year contracts that were said to be agreed before Euro 2016.
"I don't think anything of that," O'Neill told Sky Sports when asked about the Hull link following the game in Belgrade.
"There will be no hiccups with my contract, I should imagine we've got it sorted. In fact, we've shaken hands on a deal some time ago."
It was a solid showing from the Republic of Ireland as they battled to a 2-2 draw against Serbia, with Jeff Hendrick getting the visitors off to a perfect start to put them ahead in the third minute.
After riding out the pressure from their hosts for almost an hour, Serbia struck twice in quick succession as Filip Kostic struck the equaliser before earning a penalty after he was fouled by Jon Walters, with Dusan Tadic converting from the spot.
It was header from substitute Daryl Murphy ten minutes from time that saw the side snatch a point, and O'Neill thought his side deserved to take something from the trip.
"You would've taken a point before the game started away from home against a rejuvenated Serbia. They were very strong, they have very good players and I thought we fought back magnificently from conceding the second goal and we absolutely deserved the point.
"Shane Long had a good chance and had he have taken that, we could have got all three but it was touch and go. It was a good, strong game to get something out of and get off the mark.
"We made changes in the side during the game, of course. I've always said what's the point in losing 2-1, you might as well lose 4-1 if that's the case.
"We put Murphy on and he scores a great goal which is fantastic for him. That will give him a great deal of confidence. He's off the mark now and it was a fantastic header. We deserved it."
But O'Neill said the point didn't feel like a victory for his side, and queried a few of the decisions made by the referee in what were difficult weather circumstances in the stadium.
"No it doesn't feel like a win in that sense. We took a very early lead and we realised that was early on in the game and I thought we defended pretty strongly," O'Neill added.
"I didn't think we would get much from the referee. He booked two of our players early on and if he's going to book one of us down one side, he has to book their player down the other side. I think he admits that himself and it was difficult.
"The pitch cut up very quickly and the conditions were difficult but that said, we were away from home and we started the world cup campaign and got off the mark."
