Number of factors, in no particular order:
1. Michael took over a very young team, at a very low ebb, so while there was much work to do, the only way was up;
2. Performances were often better than results;
3. Game management got better - eg Michael pointed out how had games ended after 75 minutes, we'd have gained many more points than we eventually did;
4. Michael needed as much time as possible to work with the players and get his ideas across eg Training Camps rather than meaningless friendlies. Also a summer tour to Central America was crucial in drawing all this together and bonding the team;
5. Michael "gets" who NI are;
6. Michael is a genius.
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