YESTERDAY’S announcement that Martin O’Neill would be leaving the Republic of Ireland manager’s job was hardly a seismic shock, although it did come as a mild surprise.
Monday night’s 0-0 draw away to Denmark appeared to have bought the Kilrea man some breathing space to reassess ahead of the draw for Euro 2020, which takes place in Dublin next Sunday.
In normal circumstances, the dour draw in Aarhus would be viewed as a decent outcome, but in the context of the last year another 90 minutes with no ambition whatsoever sounded the death knell on O’Neill’s five-year reign.
While the man himself was speaking about building for the future, the bookies were taking bets about his imminent departure and on Tuesday, Boylesports sent out an email reporting that the odds of him being out of a job by Christmas had been cut to 4/6.
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Whoever was placing those bets seemingly knew more than O’Neill and his assistant Roy Keane. The pair had contracts until 2020, but John Delaney and his associates at the FAI felt the time was right to pay up and move on.
Mick McCarthy
Thoughts now turn to O’Neill’s successor, with the seemingly obvious thing to do being to bring in Mick McCarthy for another crack at the job, 16 years after his departure from the role.
The irony of McCarthy taking his desk as Keane packs up his belongings will not be lost on some, and relatively successful spells at Wolves and Ipswich have bolstered the former Ireland skipper’s reputation as a pragmatic, honest-to-goodness manager.
That said, after the draining pragmatism of O’Neill’s last year, which delivered just one win and four goals in nine matches, as well as relegation in the Uefa Nations League, surely the sensible thing to do is not the right one.
McCarthy (inset) was the 6/4 joint-favourite at the time of writing, but the time has come for the FAI to be brave and cast a glance toward the other man available at that price.
Stephen Kenny
Stephen Kenny has worked wonders with Dundalk, winning four of the last five Airtricity League titles, delivering two doubles and taking the Lilywhites to the group stages of the Europa League, where Kenny more than held his own against the likes of then Zenit St Petersburg manager Mircea Lucescu.
Kenny would be a brave appointment given his lack of experience in England, but Delaney and company need only look towards Belfast and Michael O’Neill for an example of how a low-profile but meticulous, motivated manager can do when given a chance.
The Dundalk manager would surely jump at the chance to manage the national side and the 6/4 quoted by Boylesports should be availed of.
Elsewhere, the old hands like Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce, David Moyes and Harry Redknapp (right) – currently charming the birds off the trees in the Australian jungle – have been mentioned but, like McCarthy, they would surely be more of the same after O’Neill.
Neill Lennon
At a bigger price, the other contender to consider is Hibs boss Neil Lennon.
The Lurgan man is the same age as Kenny at 47, but has far more experience of top-level football, having managed extensively in the Champions League before enhancing his reputation by guiding Hibs back to the Scottish top flight and finishing fourth last term, all the while playing free-flowing, high-scoring football.
Lennon has also proven his tactical acumen by masterminding a backs-to-the-wall victory over Barcelona on the way to the last-16 of the Champions League, while he has recently spoken of his frustration at his treatment in Scotland after being hit by a coin thrown by a Hearts fan.
The former Northern Ireland captain might just be up for a new challenge, and the FAI should gauge his interest at the very least before making an appointment.
