“It looks messy," Matt Doherty critical of botched FAI managerial hunt
Matt Doherty has bemoaned another delay in the FAI’s managerial search, lamenting the lack of permanent boss for the final friendlies before they face England in the Nations League opener.
Last weekend saw the 150-day mark surpassed in the wait for Stephen Kenny’s successor to be revealed.
Two missed deadlines, February 8 set by now departed chief executive Jonanthan Hill, and the early April version circled by director of football Marc Canham, have heaped ridicule on the embattled organisation.
They have failed to lure Lee Carsley or Gus Poyet, while their pursuit of Willy Sagnol perished once his Georgia side shocked Poyet’s Greece to reach the summer Euro finals.
John O’Shea is to take temporary charge for the double-header friendly against Hungary and Portugal on June 4 and 11, repeating the minding role the 42-year-old was promoted for when they met Belgium (0-0) and Switzerland (0-1) in the home March warm-up matches.
Canham last week confirmed the Irish Examiner story that the priority now is to have their head coach in place for the Nations League series, kicking off with the visit of England on September 7.
“I don't know what's going on over there,” admitted Doherty, the Wolves defender who was a first-choice under Kenny.
“It looks messy. It seems to be taking a while and there doesn’t seem to be any clarity. To the neutral eye really that it has taken that long.”
Doherty has echoed the public endorsement made by a range of players, including captain Séamus Coleman, during the first international gathering of 2024.
“If it is John, then it will be pretty good,” he told BBC about the prospect of O’Shea finally being upgraded to the job on a full-time basis.
“Really they needed someone for the summer so
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