Fulham boss Sanchez: Difficult to quit Northern Ireland job Lawrie Sanchez has revealed how difficult he found it to quit as Northern Ireland boss to take charge at Fulham.
The former Wycombe boss had intended to stay with Northern Ireland until the end of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, when he initially took over as caretaker boss at Craven Cottage halfway through the qualification campaign.
"I felt I could combine both jobs and I meant it. That was my initial reaction," Sanchez said in a new book 'Lawrie Sanchez: The Northern Ireland Years'.
"We'd come so far with Northern Ireland. It was something I wanted to complete - six more games and we had a chance of getting there.
"But the Fulham job was too good an opportunity to turn down. The fact it was for a month gave them the chance to see if they liked me and if I could do the job.
"It became clear that it's 24-7 being a Premier League manager, and combining it with 24-7 as an international manager would have been very difficult.
"The pressures on me would have been intense. When push came to shove I had to make a decision.
"I decided that the Premiership was where I always wanted to manage."