ALL BETS OFF
O’Neill and FAI go to ground as Foxes prepare to make move
THE FAI remained tight-lipped last night as speculation on the future of manager Martin O’Neill intensified amid reports of an imminent official approach on behalf of Leicester City.
The club’s desire to offer former manager O’Neill an emotional homecoming was reflected in several bookmakers yesterday refusing to take any more bets on the identity of Nigel Pearson’s successor.
Though contracted to the FAI until the end of the Euro 2016 campaign, Leicester’s billionaire Thai owners would happily meet compensation demands to allow O’Neill fill the vacancy in time for their Premier League opener against Sunderland on August 8, although supporters of the club are said to be divided on the issue.
Should O’Neill choose to return to the cut and thrust of club management, it will leave his assistant Roy Keane with four months to prove his
credentials if he is to take over the reins.
O’Neill’s joyous five-year stint at Leicester between 1995-2000 still makes him the club’s most successful manager in the eyes of the club’s loyal fanbase.
It’s thought the Derryman is considered the ideal candidate by the club hierarchy — which includes their Irish chief executive Susan Whelan — to follow a turbulent spell under the volatile Pearson.
O’Neill’s departure, should it be confirmed, will prompt the FAI to turn to his assistant Keane as interim boss for the remainder of the European Championship campaign.
Trailing third-placed Scotland by two points, Ireland must win at least three of their last four games to have any chance of overtaking Gordon Strachan’s side for a play-off route to next year’s finals in France.
Former Sunderland and Ipswich Town boss Keane has admitted to missing the decision-making authority that goes with management and would favour being his own boss with Ireland rather than accompany O’Neill to the King Power Stadium as his sidekick.
Were the most controversial character in Irish sport to somehow rescue Ireland’s dwindling campaign, he’d be a certainty to retain the position on a permanent basis for the tilt at reaching the World Cup in 2018.
Otherwise, it’s back to the drawing board for chief executive John Delaney in his search for another figurehead, with Mick McCarthy sure to be in contention for a second stint in charge.
Reports last night suggested the FAI would not stand in O’Neill’s way of accepting the Leicester vacancy, but the association insisted this was ‘incorrect’.
The club’s Thai owners want to appoint a figure capable of invigorating supporters after Pearson’s sacking and O’Neill has been identified as fitting that brief.
Guus Hiddink was approached about an advisory role only but the Dutchman rejected the opportunity.
O’Neill guided the club to Premier League promotion, won the League Cup (twice) to secure European qualification before leaving for his dream job at Celtic. ‘I loved it there,’ O’Neill said later about his breakthrough post at Leicester.
‘I put my heart and soul into the club. It was as if Leicester City Football club was my club, my baby.’
Some bookmakers suspended bets on the 63-year- old taking charge after a series of four-figure wagers were placed in London at prices of 10/1. He is now odds-on at every major gambling firm still accepting bets.
‘There are some people out there who seem convinced that O’Neill is very close to getting the job if he hasn’t accepted the role already,’ said Joe Crilly of William Hill, the first bookies firm to suspend betting.
O’Neill was l ast a Premier League manager at Sunderland, where he enjoyed early success before being dismissed by owner Ellis Short in March 2013 following a poor run.
That difficult final season at Sunderland, coupled with this underwhelming sole campaign in the Ireland job, could conspire to dissuade other suitors from offering employment when his con- tract expires later this year. He may view this as his best chance of a top-flight comeback.
O’Neill’s reputation amongst the Foxes fans, however, has not suffered. Pearson’s assistant Steve Walsh — who it’s believed club chiefs want to remain on — was a captain of O’Neill’s during Leicester’s golden era.
Walsh is familiar with another member of the current coaching staff Kevin Phillips, having managed him at Aston Villa, and so the planets are aligning to leave the FAI relying on Keane to pick up the pieces.
If confirmed, the FAI could turn to Keane as interim boss