NEW BOSS OLD FACES
Kenny successor won’t be changing everything
IRELAND’S next manager won’t have complete free rein when it comes to picking their backroom team and support staff.
FAI chiefs have confirmed that some personnel in behind-the-scenes roles will be retained, having worked under previous Irish managers.
Stephen Kenny’s successor will get to appoint his most trusted lieutenants, like an assistant manager and first-team coach, but others around the squad will stay on.
FAI Director of Football Marc Canham said the association will be adopting a ‘hybrid’ approach to the senior management team’s set-up.
“The whole support team is more than just the coaches, so there are people who will absolutely maintain and retain their positions within the wider team,” said Canham.
“We do want a coach who will come in and work with us in partnership and create that coaching team around it.
“It’ll be a bit of a hybrid. Sure, the head coach will have some people he wants to bring in but I see it as a partnership where they’re not bringing in their own team.
“But, in the same way, we’re not saying you have to have this person. It will be a collaboration between the two.”
From the outset of this managerial hunt, the FAI were clear they wanted a “head coach” who will also work closely with all of the Ireland underage managers.
And Canham – who was in Paris for Thursday’s Nations League draw, which sees Ireland host England in their first game on September 7 – insists that has not changed.
The hunt is nearing its conclusion and Canham says the FAI still have a very specific profile of manager in mind.
“We’re absolutely committed to that, in the sense of them being the head coach and calling them that,” he said.
“We want the best person for the job and I won’t go into too much detail about what exactly that criteria is and the profile.
“We would rather do that when we announce the person.
“But we want someone to come in and coach the team, improve the players and performances and get better results.
“We have a young team with a lot of potential and we want someone on the pitch with them, helping them to get better and help improve our results, ultimately.”
FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill echoed that sentiment, stressing how the new manager will fit a very particular type of profile.
Hill said: “We do want a head coach who is genuinely interested in the other underage teams and in what Marc is looking to do in relation to the whole of Irish football.
“That’s important, though the core focus will be on the men’s senior team.”
There are only 42 days to go before Ireland host Belgium on March 23 in their first game of the year.
But while there’s still no confirmation of a new manager, Canham and Hill insist the Ireland players are being scouted on a regular basis.
Prep work is also being carried out behind the scenes on Ireland’s upcoming opponents, Belgium and Switzerland.
“We have a talent ID system, we look domestically, we look globally, we have a database where we keep track of players and all those sorts of things,” said
Canham.
“We do need a head coach to look at that as soon as they come in, but the answer is yes (players are being watched).”