McCarthy’s Irish return?
Republic sack manager as Mick targets return
THE prospect of former manager Mick McCarthy returning, with Robbie Keane in a coaching role, could be too much to resist as Republic of Ireland chiefs try to rebuild enthusiasm in the wake of Martin O’Neill’s sacking.
The apathy which had set in among supporters towards O’Neill and his team was the motivating factor in removing him and assistant Roy Keane yesterday, following Ireland’s relegation to the third tier of the Nations League.
To that end, the next appointment will need to capture the imagination and McCarthy with record goalscorer Robbie Keane as part of his backroom team would tick that box far more than Dundalk’s Stephen Kenny. Hibernian boss Neil Lennon would also be a popular choice among fans.
But McCarthy, 59, wants the job and has been out of work since leaving Ipswich last season. He remains the last manager to lead Ireland to a World Cup, in 2002, and would not demand the reported £1.7million a year that O’Neill was earning.
The 66-year-old’s exit will not be mourned in Ireland, despite the success of taking the country to the second round of Euro 2016 and to within one game of the World Cup in Russia.
He had hoped — and expected — to be given a shot at qualifying for Euro 2020. Last month, following a 1-0 defeat by Wales, O’Neill came out fighting. ‘ We can turn the corner,’ he told his critics. ‘I’ll win. I’ll be ready and we’ll go through. Simple as that.’ Ireland will qualify for Euro 2020, really?
‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘ Absolutely.’ Why? ‘Because I’m good.’
But after the recent international break brought a pair of goalless and soulless draws against Northern Ireland and Denmark, his bravado waned.
‘Are you still enjoying it? You seem really flat?’ Sportsmail asked O’Neill last week. He protested otherwise, but this time he was kidding no one.
O’Neill, it seems, was embarrassed by his players’ response to his fighting talk. The FAI, too, had noted the indifference of a half-full stadium against Northern Ireland last week. In Denmark, O’Neill was tetchy, picking fights with reporters and refusing to let captain Seamus Coleman answer a simple question about players taking responsibility. O’Neill intervened, insisting the responsibility was all his. As he discovered in a London hotel on Tuesday night, his employers agreed.
Since the 5-1 World Cup play-off defeat by Denmark one year ago, it has been a fairly miserable existence around the Ireland camp.
Yes, the players are limited, but O’Neill’s strength as a manager has always been in turning water into wine. Roy Keane can also be an inspiration but he has looked bored of late and clashed with Harry Arter in an expletive-laden rant which was said to be so severe that several players headed for the Cardiff midfielder’s hotel room to offer comfort.
The management duo retained the support of the likes of Coleman, but whispers of discontent have long since been leaking out. One player told Sportsmail that the team wanted more from O’Neill on the training ground when it came to tactics and preparing for the opposition. He felt distanced from the manager and said they had barely spoken.
But it should not be forgotten how well O’Neill had done. In taking the team so far at the Euros he exceeded realistic expectations.
That, now, will be the challenge for his successor.