DUTCH AND GO
Delaney says Ireland are not the first to put such a management deal in place
IMAGINE the prospect. It is June 29 the summer after next and the Republic of Ireland are playing Spain in Bilbao in the last 16 of the Euro 2020 finals.
The Green Army have set sail across the Bay of Biscay as a nation holds its breath — and prepares to say adios to Mick McCarthy as manager.
Such a scenario would mirror the finals of Euro 2016 where Ireland squared up to France in Lyon for a place on the last eight.
At that time, Martin O’Neill’s position as manager was as solid as the Rock of Cashel.
As for McCarthy, he’d be on his bike as a consequence of the bizarre succession stakes strategy implemented by the FAI.
John Delaney, the FAI chief executive, claimed yesterday the Dutch had done something similar. It was
SHALL I stand still for you?’ quipped Mick McCarthy as the photographers snapped away noisily on the arrival of the Republic of Ireland’s newlyappointed manager at Aviva Stadium yesterday.
For McCarthy, there is a sense perhaps that time has stood still as he returns to the job he walked away from 16 years ago this month.
As he took his seat in the interview room, he’d have spied some old faces among the FAI board of blazered directors who shuffled in earlier.
There were a few familiar foes in the press benches from his ‘Captain Fantastic’ days and a staunch ally when he was first Ireland manager, Robbie Keane, the new third-incommand of the Irish team.
McCarthy referred to Keane as a ‘cheeky b **** x’ for asking to be considered for a role in the senior setup. ‘He’s always been cheeky, he played cheekily. I like that in him,’ he said.
‘Robbie has his head screwed on in terms of wanting to be a coach or manager. He should be part of that (managerial) succession, as he has a lot to offer.’
Ah, yes the succession. There was a lot of talk about Stephen Kenny even though he wasn’t in the room. The FAI will turn to the Dubliner in the summer of 2020 to lead Ireland to the 2022 World Cup.
Like McCarthy, he will be given a two-year deal, nothing more.
It’s a seachange for an association that has always judged managers after qualifying campaigns, not before. Do well, and you get another contract; do badly and you’re moved on was how it worked. Ask Martin O’Neill.
The former Wolves boss half-joked about only getting jobs when things ‘are on a low’, which they are now, yet he could play a blinder with Ireland, get to the Euro finals, and tee up Kenny with a strong hand to play.
How would he feel about handing over then? Would he not miss a crack at the World Cup?
‘I probably won’t feel great, but I have no option,’ he said. ‘I have accepted it. That is two years down the line. By then, I might get a big job in China and retire on 10 million a year.’
He wasn’t overly enamoured with the limitation when it was first put to him by FAI chief John Delaney?
‘At the time, I wasn’t so sure. I thought I might get two terms. Who doesn’t want two terms, come on? But the reality is, I think that international managers should be given one term. Perhaps they should be given the chance to take it into the next term if they do well.
‘But I knew that wasn’t the case, so I accepted it. I’m cool with it.’
Delaney trumpeted the new management strategy as the FAI’s vision although some might call it a game of high risk.
Consider Kenny’s involvement as the new Ireland Under 21 manager.
Whether he’s going well or badly, he will have to step aside with four qualifiers left in the Euro 2021 campaign to replace McCarthy.
Was that part of the Delaney ‘vision’ for the FAI?
With a contract for 20 months, McCarthy already has been described as an interim manager, or worse, a caretaker.
As the players already know he’s not going to be around for long, could that undermine his authority? ‘Not for the European Championships, which I’m in charge of, no,’ he said
‘Anybody wants to say “Well, he won’t be here in 2020 when we’re off to Qatar, so we’ll chill, we’ll not bother.”
‘How many games are they going to play? I don’t think it undermines my authority one bit.’
‘I don’t see it (the time limit) as added pressure at all. You get 11 months as a Championship manager. That’s pretty much the average tenure. I’m getting two years.’
Later, McCarthy moved into the photographer’s room where all the lockers are named after Dublin post codes and counties. By chance, he sat in front of ‘Waterford’, the home county of his late father, Charlie.
Before the next round of interviews, he shook hands with every reporter and looked them in the eye. It’s fair to say that O’Neill did things a little differently.
At 59, McCarthy is more confident than the 36-year-old rookie who was first appointed manager in 1996.
He’s vastly experienced now, but still fuelled by the passion be brought to Ireland as a player, including 22 caps as captain, and as manager for almost 1,000 games.
‘I haven’t lost any of my drive or my ambition to do be a success to have good teams and play good football. It’s a bit of a misconception, a bit like [Neil] Warnock’s got tagged with.
‘Now, he’s 10 years older than me, he’s 70. He’s still in the Premier League and fighting tooth and nail.
‘If anybody has seen me at the sideline the last five years, nobody
is thinking I’ve packed it up and want to put my slippers on.’
When did he realise he was missing management again?
‘When I jet washed the jet washer. I knew then it was time to go back to work.
‘I’ve had other offers in this time. I wasn’t waiting for this at all. I’ve said it all along when the right job comes up, whatever the right job was. This did come up and I think it is the right job for me.’
The job is his for 20 months or is it? Things rarely stand still in Irish football.