April board meeting to ratify new Ireland manager
On International Day of Happiness, Lee Carsley crushed hopes of the FAI’s long search for a manager ending with his name on the press release.
The FAI board will assemble on Wednesday, April 3 to rubberstamp the candidate to have emerged through the most protracted process for a boss in their history.
It took 113 days for Giovanni Trapattoni to be anointed in 2008, whereas the clock ticks past 119 here in the modern equivalent.
What we do know for certain is that the grand reveal won’t involve either interim boss John O’Shea, or number one target Carsley.
When installing O’Shea as the stopgap for these pair of home friendlies against Belgium on Saturday and Switzerland on Tuesday week, Marc Canham confirmed their external contractual commitments prevented both the announcement and availability of the permanent boss.
Follow-up queries confirmed that the plan was for the chosen one to begin work immediately in April and there would be no double-jobbing arrangement if their current job demanded continuity up to the summer.
It’s now understood that a heads of agreement has been reached with that person to assume the full-time role.
The contender is to have their recommendation ratified at a meeting of the entire 14-person board, with the terms and conditions also approved to ensure the budget sanctioned at the outset is complied with.
Canham, as the FAI’s director of football, has led the headhunting phase, which officially kicked off when Stephen Kenny’s contract wasn’t renewed on November 28 following his fourth failed campaign.
He was joined on the interview panel by chief executive Jonathan Hill along with Packie Bonner, the legendary former Ireland goalkeeper now back in the FAI almost three years as a board member and
Read on irishexaminer.com
