Manager search rambles on - will John O'Shea throw his hat into the ring?
All eyes and ears will be on John O’Shea today when he’s asked for his interest levels in upgrading his caretaker role as Ireland manager to permanent status.
The five-time Premier League winner and Ireland centurion was well down the pecking order of candidates when his boss Stephen Kenny was dethroned in November but the FAI’s inability to land top choice Lee Carsley for the vacancy triggered a rethink as the 100-day search loomed last week.
With two of the 10 leading European countries, Belgium (3) and Switzerland (10), due at Lansdowne Road for friendlies on March 23 and 26, they felt compelled to act and so engineered a stopgap arrangement.
That O’Shea is responsible for reconciling Brian Kerr with the FAI almost 20 years on from a messy break-up, as technical advisor, adds to the feelgood factor around this move.
It also curbs, for the time being anyway, a barrage of negative publicity around the leadership of the association.
It’s against such a backdrop that their promise of a full-time boss by early April is being treated with suspicion. That may well turn out to be O’Shea and his stellar backroom team despite soundings to the contrary.
He will be flanked at this afternoon’s press conference – postponed from Friday due to the weather – by Director of Football Marc Canham and clarity from the FAI’s chief headhunter is expected for a public fatigued by language couched in cryptic tones.
With Carsley wedded to England’s U21 upcoming Euro qualifier against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg – and no indication of him being persuaded to believe the time is opportune for an Ireland comeback – other names are emerging all the time.
There was logic to the candidature of Slaven Bilić when it surfaced on Saturday night.
His
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