PRAGMATIC TO THE END
With continued uncertainty over the Euro play-offs and his contract up in four months, McCarthy knew the writing was on the wall but he leaves with much disappointment
‘THE OPTION OF ASKING KENNY TO DEFER WASN’T CONSIDERED’
THE die was cast for Mick McCarthy on Wednesday when UEFA kicked the Euro play-offs beyond July 31, the final day of his contract as Republic of Ireland manager.
From that moment, he was in no-man’s land. And he sensed the ground shifting under his feet.
So too did the FAI, who had become fully aware that UEFA no longer regarded the play-offs as a priority, to the extent they could be shoved back as far as February or March of 2021.
UEFA were far keener to parade their fat cats – England, Germany, Spain, France and Italy – in the Nations League in the autumn, should football get the go-ahead to resume then after the coronavirus.
As for the less glamorous play-off boys, such as Ireland, they can wait their turn at the back of the room.
That uncertainty created a problem and also focused minds for the FAI hierarchy.
There was no way they could keep McCarthy and his backroom staff on the pay-roll – even on a shortterm contract – with Stephen Kenny and his backroom team coming on board on August 1.
Two managers and two sets of coaching staff spelt double trouble and would have made the FAI a laughing stock.
There had already been plenty of sniggers about the bizarre managerial succession strategy put in place by the former FAI regime under John Delaney.
The option of asking Kenny to defer wasn’t considered as it would have left the door open for a legal action by the current Under 21 boss, who had a legally binding contract to take over in the summer.
On Thursday, there was a threeway conversation between Gary Owens, the FAI Ceo, Roy Barrett, the FAI chairman, and Gerry McAnaney, the FAI president.
There was only one item on the agenda – how to resolve the future of McCarthy.
All agreed on the problem posed by the play-off delay and its implications for a manager with four months left on his contract.
The chat was all about McCarthy, there had been no cage rattling from the Kenny camp.
The business phone call from Owens on Friday was not in any way a demand for McCarthy’s head but rather to assess how he felt about the situation, especially with Kenny primed to step up.
The reaction from McCarthy was in tune with the mood of his employers, only he went further and suggested it might make things easier for the FAI, and for Kenny, if he left as per the contract.
He was aware of what was coming and took a pragmatic and practical view, causing Owens no hassle in a conversation that was civil throughout.
While bitterly disappointed at not being able to see out the job he started in March 2019 in Gibraltar,
McCarthy understood how circumstances had changed, unlike his contract, which hadn’t.
He appreciated the FAI were in a contractual bind, and the continued uncertainty over the play-offs put them in a difficult position.
Rather than hang on until July 31, McCarthy agreed to leave right away, insisting he was easy with the decision to go. He asked for time to tell Terry Connor, his assistant, and the plan was for the FAI to reveal the news today.
But as is so often the case with these things, the news got out early and Newstalk broke the story at 4.0pm yesterday.
McCarthy leaves with unfinished business, and that will stick in his craw. He was desperate to lead the team to the Euro finals and felt, with everyone fit, that goal was very much attainable.
Instead, it will be Kenny who inherits the reins and may, by virtue of the play-offs’ low standing with UEFA, have a run of up to half a dozen games to put his stamp on things before the trip to Slovakia.
It will be Kenny who may lead Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in June 2021, not McCarthy, who lost one game in ten in the qualifiers. Getting out now will hurt McCarthy but at least he leaves on good terms, unlike 2002 when he felt the fall-out to his World Cup row with Roy Keane was having a negative effect on the players, and the performance of the team.
Then, he left with nothing, even though he’d signed a contract extension at the finals five months earlier.
This time, he leaves with €1.2m, as part of the small print agreed by Delaney in November 2018.
It’s a considerable cushion to ease the blow and it won’t be long before he’s back at the coalface in England, complete with his trademark Barnsley bark.
How will he be remembered? They always say in football never go back and it will irritate
McCarthy he fell short of his primary objective which was a toptwo finish in the Euro qualifiers – imagine the pickle for the FAI if automatic qualification had come to pass.
Without a friendly to assess his players, he recalled Glenn Whelan and set out his team to be organised and committed, if lacking in verve and goals.
That they played right to the death, equalising late against Denmark and Switzerland, reflected well on McCarthy, who has always been a player’s manager.
For Kenny, the way is clear to take charge, and for that he has McCarthy to thank as no one would have benefited from any friction brought on by his departure.
It will certainly help the Dubliner if the Euro play-off is delayed further as it will give him time to impress the players, some of whom will be unfamiliar with his methods and feats on the club scene in Ireland.
It’s a plus that the likes of Seamus Coleman, James McClean, Enda Stevens, with League of Ireland backgrounds, will be clued in to his talents, while a cluster of U21s, who have flourished under Kenny in that sector, can expect to be pushed forward when action finally does resume.