Ireland football chiefs hold three meetings with Roy Keane over managerial vacancy | OneFootball

FAI chiefs have reportedly held three separate meetings with legendary Manchester United captain Roy Keane as they close in on the appointment of a new men’s team manager.

The former United midfielder won 67 caps for Ireland and even led the national team to the 2002 World Cup but didn’t play.

Keane re-joined the senior Ireland set-up, this time in the capacity of an assistant coach under Martin O’Neill between 2013 and 2018.

The 1999 treble winner has since been working as a TV pundit for both Sky Sports and ITV.

Earlier this year in January, Keane expressed his desire to make a return to football in a managerial role. He confirmed that he had been the subject of advances and offers but was only open to the right opportunity.

When pressed on whether the Ireland job appeals to him, Keane explained that he enjoyed international football as O’Neill’s assistant and he appreciated the dynamics of just coaching the players and not dealing with board members every week as is usually the case at club level.

Ireland are currently without a permanent manager after Stephen Kenny’s contract was not renewed before Christmas.

Ex-United defender John O’Shea has been serving as interim boss.

According to The Irish Examiner, Keane has held talks on three occasions with FAI officials, who want to finalize an appointment in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, the FAI stated, “The board of the FAI had its scheduled end of month meeting this morning and a range of issues were discussed.”

“The process to appoint our senior men’s team head coach will now be finalised, led by the CEO (Jonathan Hill) and director of football (Canham), with an announcement planned in April, as planned.”

President Paul Cooke reiterated this stance and remarked, “We’re on schedule for an April announcement. The (precise) timing is not certain at this moment in time.”

“We’ve narrowed the process well down. We would be comfortable that the candidate will fit into our plan and processes going forward. The intention is that the manager will start as soon as possible.”

The Irish Examiner notes that the final decision as to who becomes Ireland’s next manager will be consensually made by a team consisting of Hill, Canham and board member Packie Bonner. It’s these three individuals who have held conversations with Keane.

Keane’s former teammate O’Shea was asked about his chances of assuming the national team hot seat. This could see him possibly come up against Keane for the vacant job.

O’Shea admitted, “If I could be the manager of Real Madrid, Manchester United or Ireland in the morning, I would make it happen.”

“I would tell you, I would give you the clarity, I don’t have it either. From the wording I’ve heard before the previous games, they said they have (a manager). That’s my understanding of it.”

He also relayed that he was not approached by the FAI when they were holding the first round of interviews.

O’Shea refused to rule out the likelihood of returning to his former assistant role once a new manager is appointed – a scenario that could see him work under Keane in the Ireland dugout.

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