Martin O’Neill is now the bookies’ favourite to take over at Stoke City.
We may not have been feeling particularly positive about the Republic of Ireland after a chastening defeat to Denmark in the World Cup play-offs, but news that O’Neill is widely tipped to succeed Mark Hughes at Stoke plunges the team’s future into further uncertainty.
The Potters sacked Hughes after a wretched run of form which culminated in humiliating fashion by being unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by Coventry City on Saturday.
The Premier League strugglers then identified two candidates to assume first-team duties: Derby County boss Gary Rowett and O’Neill. However, in a commendable show of loyalty, Rowett signed a new contract with the Rams, thus leaving O’Neill as the clear frontrunner.
With his exit from the Ireland job looking like a probability, we thought it was a good time to analyse the men who could take over from O’Neill. Just to be clear, we’re not saying O’Neill is definitely leaving but, should he jump ship, expect to hear the following names linked with the Ireland post.
Roy Keane
No surprise here. Keane has been O’Neill’s assistant ever since he took the job in November 2013 so, with over four years in the set-up, you could argue that the Manchester United legend is as good a candidate as any to take over.
Keane has had some success as a manager. When he was appointed Sunderland manager, in August 2006, the Black Cats were in the relegation zone of the Championship. Under him, they transformed into easily the best team in the division, topping the table to earn promotion to the Premier League and earning Keane a manager of the year award.
Since then, though, it’s been a mixed bag. His famously brusque persona led to clashes with his players and the Sunderland squad reportedly celebrated when he resigned in December 2008. He then had an inconsistent spell with Ipswich Town, being dismissed in January 2011. That was the last time Keane was in charge of a team, so there are certainly pros and cons to appointing him.
Neil Lennon
If O’Neill was asked to handpick his successor, there is a good chance he’d plump for Lennon, who played under him at Leicester City and Celtic.
The Lurgan man has forged a respectable managerial career for himself, though, clinching a hat-trick of SPL titles with Celtic and leading Hibernian back to the top-flight of Scottish football in May 2017.
He endured a difficult spell with Bolton in his only foray into English football management but he is a man with unwavering faith in his own ability. He has also in the past expressed a desire to lead the Republic of Ireland.
With nearly a decade of club management under his belt, he has to be considered as a strong candidate for the position.
Stephen Kenny
While making the jump from the League of Ireland to international management is considerable, Kenny’s achievements at Dundalk make him difficult to ignore. The Tallaght native led the Lilywhites to three successive league titles before surrendering their grip at the summit to Cork City last season and, while appointing the 46-year-old would have to be considered a risk, he has more managerial credentials than, say, Brian Kerr.
In November, Eamon Dunphy put Kenny forward for the job. The pundit said that the former Derry City boss has proven himself time and time again in club football and suggested that he would deserves to be given a chance, while arguing that Kerr himself should be brought back into the fold at youth level.
It’s an interesting proposal, for sure, but we wouldn’t hold our breath over the FAI taking such a gamble.
Chris Hughton
As a former Republic of Ireland international with an impressive managerial record, Hughton would be worth getting excited about. The 59-year-old had stints at Newcastle, Birmingham and Norwich before guiding Brighton to the Premier League for the first time in their history, while he also served as assistant to Kerr between 2003-05.
However, at the time of writing, Brighton are 12th in the Premier League table so it’s difficult to imagine Hughton getting enthusiastic at the prospect of giving up what he has going at the Amex Stadium in favour of trying to pick up the pieces in the post-O’Neill era.
Mick McCarthy
It might sound ridiculous at a glance, but this is where we’re at. Regardless of your opinion on the man, McCarthy is a good manager. After leaving Ireland in 2002, he got relegated and promoted with Sunderland, lasted six years at Wolves and has operated under an extremely tight budget at Ipswich Town since 2012.
He may not be an appointment to set many heart rates racing but he certainly has as much experience as anyone else on this list and would perhaps work as a reasonably short-term solution.
Offering him the job is one thing – whether he’d take it is another matter entirely. McCarthy was lambasted by the Irish media during his last spell in charge and it’s a popular belief that he is holding out for a return to Premier League management at some point. Therefore, he may view the idea of taking on Ireland as a regressive step.
Brendan Rodgers
Like O’Neill and Lennon, the former Liverpool boss has enjoyed a wonderfully productive time in charge at Celtic Park. However, like McCarthy, Rodgers very much views himself as a top-level manager and wants to be coaching in the Champions League. After a bitterly disappointing end to his spell at Anfield, it’s understandable that Rodgers would be targeting a return to the Premier League, so convincing him would be difficult.
The Carnlough native is a fine manager with plenty of ideas and a bright future, but his philosophy may not gel seamlessly with the current crop of Ireland internationals. Rodgers espouses an attacking brand of football characterised by short, sharp passing moves and that’s not the style you’d associate with Ireland.
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