Shay Given does not believe that John O'Shea’s reappointment as interim manager for the upcoming summer internationals is the ideal scenario for the national team.
O’Shea was handed the reins for the March fixtures against Belgium and Switzerland under the understanding that there was to be a permanent appointment in April.
However, the FAI were not true to their word as that month came and went without an appointment and they subsequently had to apologise to Ireland fans for their inability to put a new manager in place.
"Roy Keane would always be box office if he got back in. If he got the number one spot, the hot seat, as manager, I’m sure that would fill a few columns."
The FAI since went back to O’Shea, who does not appear to be have been considered for the full-time role, and asked him to once again take charge for the June games at home to Hungary and away to Portugal.
And former Newcastle number one, Given, does not feel the whole situation has been handled very well by the FAI.
"I don’t think it’s ideal to be honest," said the former Ireland goalkeeper.
"If they had said to John 'we’ll bring you in for the next four games and we’ll have a look at it after that’, it would make more sense.
"But it was like ‘we’ll announce a manager in April after the first two friendlies’, then obviously they backtracked on that, of course. And now they said it is going to be September.
"And then they pick the phone up to John again and say ‘do you fancy coming back again?’ that kind of way, you know?
"So I wouldn’t say he has been mistreated, but I think it could have been dealt with better, let’s be honest.
"But credit to John, he could have easily turned around and said no, I don’t want to get involved in these games in June, I want a decision on the long-term future.
"I don’t know the ins and outs of those conversations or whether John has got a long-term future with the FAI with regards to a new manager, and perhaps, John has promised or guaranteed a role within that set-up. I don’t know, I’m just speculating, like half the country, but at the same time, I think it could have been dealt with a lot better, yeah."
Lee Carsley was apparently the number one target for the association, however, once the former Ireland midfielder ruled himself out of the position in the immediate future, it forced the FAI to backtrack on their April promise.
Given, in fact, offered real insight into the situation earlier this year when he proclaimed that Carsley was not likely to take the job, when speaking as a pundit on RTE’s Champions League coverage.
And the Ireland goalkeeper now feels that the FAI has put themselves in the unenviable position having to place a new manager in the role with England likely to be their first fixture in the new job.
"I think Lee would be the perfect candidate because of what he has done with previous clubs and now at international level, with the England Under-21s, I don’t think they had won a major tournament until Lee got his hands on them," said Given.
"He would be brilliant, because we have a relatively young Ireland squad as well, he knows the country, played forty-something caps for Ireland, and knows it really, really well.
"He said a few months back that it didn’t feel right at the time, but it’s something in the future that maybe he’d look at it."
And what of the other candidates?
Given named several former team-mates and Ireland players with managerial experience, while adding that he feels that Roy Keane would be ‘box office’ if he was handed the reins.
"So if you take a step away from Lee, as it doesn’t seem to be the right time for him, then the other obvious ones would be Damien Duff, who is doing a great job with Shelbourne, Robbie Keane is doing a great job out in Israel, and of course Roy Keane would always be box office if he got back in.
"Obviously, he was number two to Martin (O’Neill) but if he got the number one spot, the hot seat, as manager, I’m sure that would fill a few columns.
"But again Roy would be keen, I’d say, to do it, but I don’t know Marc Canham at all, I’ve never even met the guy, so I can only go on what interviews he has given and things like that, I don’t have any insight on that side of things.
"You would like to have the manager in place…and it looks like, if he is true to his word, that it is going to be September, the qualifiers, and the first game for a new manager is going to be England in a major qualifier which is not ideal preparation, if I’m honest."
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
