Roy wanted a job that would rock his boat but has that ship now sailed?
KERR: LET’S GO BACK TO BASICS
THE duties of the Republic of Ireland manager should be expanded beyond just the senior team, says former boss Brian Kerr.
Kerr, whose greatest success came in an all-encompassing technical Director role which saw him oversee Ireland’s underage success in the late 90s, has been previously scathing in his criticism of now-former manager Martin O’neill and his assistant Roy Keane.
And he sees the Ireland senior team boss having a similar role to his own in the past, by being involved in all football affairs in the country.
Kerr told Sky Sports: “I would like for us to go back to somebody, people, who are involved in the whole game.
“Not just with the senior team. Much as the Welsh have done with Ryan
Giggs (right), and not alone Ryan
Giggs, the people around him and below him have stayed there consistently.
“Through the underage teams, there has been a consistency in the style and the way players are developed.”
The closest thing the FAI possess to Kerr’s role today is Ruud Dokter, the high performance director, who has attempted to implement a common playing style across the national underage sides.
The change in approach has brought Ireland success and some renewed hope for the future, as all age group up to under-21s posted great results in the past two summers.
But that style takes a turn when you look at the senior side, a prime example of the lack of collective Kerr insists is needed.
“We’ve had our underage teams trying to play in a certain style and we have a senior team who play a completely different style,” he continued.
“There also seems to be a detachment between those and between the game here in
Ireland.
“Roy and Martin have attended some games here but, in my book, not enough. We haven’t seen them often enough.”