NO CATCHING THE GUS
Poyet insists timing isn’t right for him but reckons Irish job is full of potential
GUS POYET was back in Dublin yesterday, but this time he left the grenades at home.
Back in October, when his Greece team beat Ireland for a second time to end fanciful and slim Euro 2024 qualifying hopes once and for all, he was at his mischievous best, throwing barbs at Stephen Kenny and his assistant Keith Andrews.
But yesterday, less than two months out from Greece’s Euro 2024 playoff semi-final against Kazakhstan, Poyet wasn’t playing mind games.
As it stands, his contract expires on March 31, which is five days after a potential Euro 2024 playoff final against Georgia or Luxembourg.
“I’m going to be honest, any answer I give here will make me get killed in Greece! People get upset when we tell the truth,” he said.
But while Poyet wasn’t stirring it this time, he wasn’t hiding his interest in the Ireland job either – albeit highlighting how the timing was wrong.
FAI chiefs still hope to have a manager in place for the Nations League draw in Paris on February 8.
With Lee Carsley seemingly out of the running, focus turned to Neil Lennon late last week although other candidates are in the mix.
Poyet insists he has not been contacted by the FAI and said: “No. Going back to when we played here (in Dublin), I was very impressed with the supporters.
“You have that feeling where you want to play the game. From the hotel to the stadium it was incredible. Inside the stadium it was magnificent.
“I said what I was feeling about the game at the time. It was a few months ago but nothing changed. At the moment, I promise you, zero, nobody (had made contact).”
Poyet feels the Ireland job is an attractive one to prospective managers.
“There was a period not that long ago, maybe five or six years ago, where the national team wasn’t at the highest
(level),” he said.
“Some people think Greece is above the Republic of Ireland, but the reality is when I went to the draw in Frankfurt last year, Greece were fourth seed.
“The first in the group were France and Netherlands, but the next in the pot was the Republic of Ireland.
“It shows that for a few years, Ireland were not doing very well, but still better than Greece and there’s always potential when you can play at home in Aviva Stadium.”
Poyet added:
“There’s a bit of inbetween with the style of play, so a coach can come and apply what he thinks is best for the players to win more games.”