Baku, April 23, AZERTAC Michael O’Neill has stepped down as Northern Ireland manager after eight-and-a-half years in the role, The Irish Times reports.A mutual decision was made for O’Neill to leave his position due to proposed revised international match scheduling by UEFA in light of the coronavirus pandemic.“After careful consideration and following discussions with the Irish FA I feel it is only fair that now is the right time for me to step aside,” O’Neill said.O’Neill was named Stoke boss in early November, but remained in charge of Northern Ireland in order to see out the Euro 2020 — now pushed back to 2021 — qualification process.However, it seems likely UEFA will reschedule the play-off matches deciding the last four places at next year’s rescheduled European Championship after the first Nations League matches in September.O’Neill was appointed in December 2011 and presided over their run to Euro 2016 in France — the first time in 30 years they had qualified for a major tournament.