After a farcical week or so for the FAI, a Twitter-ready one-on-one interview with Martin O’Neill was not what was needed.
There was silence, then there was an interview, after which we wished they’d just kept silent.
O’Neill is still the Republic of Ireland manager – that’s what we’ve been assured of in a grainy video delivered by the Football Association of Ireland.
After the Derry man was reported to have failed to agree a deal with Stoke that would have seen him succeed Mark Hughes at the bet365 Stadium, Ireland fans were left to wait.
Then, on Tuesday evening, the FAI’s Twitter account shared a video clip entitled ‘Martin O’Neill Update.’ It was a 76-second interview between O’Neill and presumably a member of the FAI’s media team. The caption read, “Republic of Ireland Manager Martin O’Neill gives an update on his contract and looks ahead to 2018. #COYBIG.“
The interview started with O’Neill saying that his contract had been resolved, that he and John Delaney had agreed on an extension, subject to various lawyer’s perusing over the detail. O’Neill was then asked about the upcoming Euro Nations League draw, which takes place next Wednesday.
Republic of Ireland Manager Martin O'Neill gives an update on his contract and looks ahead to 2018. #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/AzEiae5fe4
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) January 16, 2018
The 65-year-old said that not everyone is entirely ‘au fait’ with the concept of the Euro Nations League before going on to say that upcoming friendlies against Turkey and France in March and May respectively will be a good opportunity to introduce some younger players into the international set-up.
All the while, he’s being asked about the “exciting year ahead” and “exciting times”.
Let’s just take no notice of that elephant in the room then. Considering that this was O’Neill’s first official address to the media since his Denmark post-match press conference, it fell remarkably short of what was required: clarity.
Perhaps the FAI should have taken heed of what RB Leipzig did this week. The Bundesliga club acted definitively on Sunday to put an end to speculation that midfielder Naby Keita was set to move to Liverpool this month as opposed to in the summer, as had been initially agreed.
In a series of tweets, Leipzig confirmed that Keita would be staying with them until 30th June. “We wish to put the speculation about a January move to @LFC to bed,” they said. The German club also confirmed that Liverpool had expressed interest in signing Keita earlier and, although the clubs entered into negotiations, Liverpool were unwilling to pay the ‘exorbitant’ extra fee that would have seen Leipzig sanction his departure.
Martin O'Neill breaking his silence to give in-house interview to FAI is utter bollocks.
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) January 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/1895Barry/status/953391078476042241
After increasingly intense speculation over Keita, Leipzig’s response was undeniably perspicuous. The FAI’s, in stark contrast, has been anything but regarding O’Neill’s future with the Republic. Here we are, almost a week on from every football person on these isles contemplating the possibility of him and Keane jumping ship, and we’re still without an official statement from John Delaney or Ireland’s governing body.
O’Neill’s interview, in effect, was a purposeless venture. His thoughts on the Euro Nations League draw were not a primary concern and not one person got to ask him if Stoke offered him a longer contract, would he have gone?
That’s not to castigate O’Neill for his managerial ambitions. The lure of Premier League management is unquestionable, particularly after enduring a harrowing denouement to the bid to the reach the World Cup.
Word had filtered through this week that O’Neill was set to ‘face the media.’ If that, in fact, meant this cushy back-and-forth with someone from the FAI, we can only hope it’s not an unsatisfactory prognostication of what is to come. Anyone that calls that interview ‘breaking the silence’ needs to have a good, hard look at themselves.
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