'Existing contractual obligations' delaying announcement of new Ireland boss
Marc Canham has indicated John O’Shea won’t be assuming the Ireland job on a permanent basis, confirming existing contractual obligations have delayed the announcement until April.
The target set by chief executive Jonathan Hill of having a full-time boss in-situ for the UEFA Nations League draw on February 8 fell asunder when top target Lee Carsley shied away from the proposition in order to concentrate on his England U21 side continuing their Euro defence by facing Azerbaijan and Luxembourg in qualifiers.
Centurion O’Shea was last week installed as interim boss for the home double-header friendly against Belgium and Switzerland on March 23 and 26, sealing a dramatic return of Brian Kerr to the FAI as technical advisor, with the FAI signalling early April as their revised timeline for a main chief.
Canham, their director of football, stuck to that deadline when asked at today’s press conference unveiling the caretaker boss.
He confirmed within his opening statement they were “very, close to the endpoint”, adding that “existing contractual obligations mean we can’t comment until then.” O’Shea is at a loose end, having left Birmingham City within days of his boss Wayne Rooney being sacked last month.
“I’m only concentrating on these two games,” said Waterford native O’Shea, who has yet to pick a team in his coaching career, having undergone assistant roles at club level with Championship trio Reading, Stoke City and Birmingham City as well as the Ireland U21s and most recently as Stephen Kenny’s seniors number three.
“I’m up for a conversation but that’s well down the line.
New Brum boss Tony Mowbray revealed that O’Shea was embarking on his own crusade to venture into management.
The 42-year-old added: “In my
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