Roy Keane could re-emerge in Ireland manager hunt with addition of senior FAI figure to managerial search
FAI director of football Marc Canham gave an update on the managerial hunt on Friday, after the Association failed to meet another deadline.
Roy Keane could be back in the frame for the role of senior Ireland head coach after director of football Marc Canham confirmed on Friday a shake-up in the head-hunting team.
With CEO Jonathan Hill effectively gone from the FAI, ahead of his official departure on April 30, Canham has turned to interim CEO David Courell and President Paul Cooke to aid himself and Packie Bonner in the search.
Keane was spoken to in January but it went no further, as FAI trio Canham, Hill and Bonner turned their attention elsewhere.
Willy Sagnol and Gus Poyet were then believed to be their main targets, as Canham referred to “existing contractual obligations” ruling out an appointment until early-April.
However, Sagnol guided Georgia to Euro 2024 and Poyet appeared to favour staying on with Greece.
While the fresh delay in appointing a new boss means that an appointment won’t be made until late-summer, it gives the Association time to revisit previous options.
Waterford native Cooke is a big fan of former Manchester United and Ireland man Keane - and his involvement in the search could lead to fresh contact with the legendary midfielder.
Canham, in his inhouse interview, revealed that John O’Shea would likely resume the role of interim head coach for the June friendlies at home to Hungary and away to Portugal.
This would also likely see the return of Glenn Whelan and Paddy McCarthy, and maybe Brian Kerr too, who acted as technical advisor during the March window when O’Shea took charge of friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland.
“Realistically we’re looking toward the UEFA Nations League now with the first game against England in September and that’s what we’re aiming to do,” said Canham, when asked when a permanent appointment would be made.
“We recognise that the timelines and deadlines that we’ve previously set have created a sense of expectation and potentially confusion for everyone.
“In hindsight, we would maybe not set those deadlines if we were to do this again, and absolutely commit to trying to find the best person and take as long as that should take. That’s our aim.
“We recognise and apologise for that but we are also confident that ultimately this process will result in us finding the best person for the job.”
He added: “In the two June friendlies, the expectation now is that we will have an interim head coach whilst we continue the search for a permanent head coach for September.
“We would like that to be John O’Shea, we are very pleased with what he did in the March friendlies and we are talking to him at the moment and hope to be able to confirm that as soon as possible.”
Asked what would happen next, Canham responded: “We will continue with the process. I will be working with our FAI president Paul Cooke, our independent board member Packie Bonner and David Courell from a senior leadership perspective, and will continue to do that over the course of the next few months, working towards our aim of having a permanent head coach in place for the September games.”
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
