... making history in Greece, but is quietly confident his side can achieve their Euro 2016 ambition.
He signed for Newcastle in 1987 from Coleraine making 48 appearances, scoring 15 goals, before joining Dundee United in 1989.
O'Neill has led Northern Ireland to successive victories over Hungary and the Faroe Islands, leaving them in the unexpected position of topping Group F.
It is the first time since 1968 that Northern Ireland have won their first two qualifiers but none of O'Neill's predecessors have ever gone one better than that.
Michael O'Neill: "There's a million stats out there but they're not a concern to us at all.
"It's about the 90 minutes, taking something from the game, all of the other stuff is totally irrelevant to me.
"Our aim hasn't changed just because we've had a good start and Greece have had a poor start, our objective is to try and finish in those top three positions.
"We've never said we think we can win the group or anything like that, but the belief is in this squad that they are more than capable of competing.
"I believe in the team. I think there is a sense that some people can get carried away and we are looked at as all conquering, but you have to be sensible also and recognise that Greece are the number one seed in the group.
"When we looked at the fixtures when they came out and our best chances of getting points this wouldn't have been a game we would have looked at.
"But the start has given us the belief that we can come here and add to our points tally."