Former Ireland player Ian Harte has become the latest voice to claim that the chase for a new Ireland boss is farcical.
The FAI has been searching for the new Irish boss since Stephen Kenny's sacking back in November. Names like Gus Poyet, Roy Keane, and Lee Carsley have all been linked, and for many, it has been a long-drawn-out process that has been described as a "farce."
As a stop-gap solution, the FAI has given the role to former Ireland captain John O'Shea on a temporary basis. O'Shea took over the Ireland squad for the March friendlies and will also take charge of the team for this coming week's games against Hungary and Portugal.
Damien Duff has been a very vocal critic of the search, and Harte, his former teammate, is of the same mindset. Nevertheless, Harte is delighted for O'Shea, the temporary Ireland boss.
"The managerial search has been farcical, really. Obviously, the team is suffering at the moment. And I don't think they should ever have appointed Stephen Kenny. I'm sure he's a lovely, lovely guy, but I think it was just a cheap option. Then they say that they’re going to appoint someone and it doesn’t happen. But I'm delighted for John O'Shea, with the career that he's had and his knowledge of the game," said Harte to Best Payout Online Slots
John O'SheaAt one time, the current England U-21 boss and former Ireland player Lee Carsley were also heavily linked to the role. Carsley has since been ruled out of the running for the role.
Harte believes that Carsley could potentially have gotten the Ireland squad playing nice football.
"I know Lee Carsley quite well, and I look at the kind of football that the England U-21s are playing. I know he's got a nice group of players, and most of them are playing Premier League football, but I just think that he's really calm and he's not frightened of getting the ball down. He does get the team playing some exciting football."
"It's obvious the FAI needs to make a decision on the manager sooner rather than later. At the moment, John has that job. If John does well, you never know; he might get the opportunity, and it falls into his hands. But Damien Duff has been mentioned as well, and he's doing very well back in Ireland. They are players who have represented the country; they are passionate, young, hungry, and want to improve the players."
Ireland plays Hungary on Tuesday.
