FAI prepared to wait until end of English season to widen manager hunt

John O’Shea was coy on whether he’d act as stopgap again as the FAI’s search is about to breach their own deadline of April.

The FAI board are expected to be informed by director of football Marc Canham on Wednesday that there’s no permanent manager to appoint immediately.

Canham had declared when installing O’Shea as interim boss for the March friendlies that the plan was for the permanent manager to start their tenure in April.

“The process of the appointment of the permanent new head coach is very close to the end, and we look forward to announcing that new permanent head coach in early April,” he said on March 4.

“Existing contractual obligations mean we are not in a position to announce any further details at this point, but as we have committed to, we will announce that in early April.” That early phase of the month has veered into the middle and there’s no sign of it finalising before the May weekend.

It’s understood the FAI are prepared to wait until the end of the English League season early next month before widening their hunt following a few setbacks.

Lee Carsley was by far and away the preferred candidate and though contact was maintained until February, the terms and the timing turned him away from a job he has long coveted. His comments last month suggested he will remain with European U21 champions England for the remainder of their Euro 2025 campaign.

Chris Hughton was the other contender who was part of their early deliberations but his commitment to the African Cup of Nations in January caused a distraction.

Although his name has cropped up again this week, it would take some convincing of the former Ireland defender who is in the throes of taking a break.

That could change in the coming months