Martin OÂ’NeillÂ’s the early favourite to replace Giovanni Trapattoni as Republic of Ireland manager. The former Celtic and Aston Villa manager hasnÂ’t worked since being sacked by Sunderland last season. Trapattoni and the FAI parted company after five and a half years on Wednesday with qualification for next summerÂ’s World Cup finals in Brazil no longer a realistic possibility.
FAI Chief executive John Delaney says the successful candidate will be asked to build upon the foundations laid by the Italian with a view to securing a swift return to the big stage.
Delaney said: “I think he [Trapattoni] felt he had done a good job. When he first came, we hadn’t qualified for a major tournament for a long time.
“He genuinely believes there’s a group of young players available to the next manager. Most people in Irish football would agree he’s left Irish football in a better state. It has been a tough campaign, today is an emotional day, but the work begins from today to get to the 2016 Euros. We will look at the process for a new manager because there are good young players who want to get to a major tournament.”
However, it will be TrapattoniÂ’s replacement who reaps the rewards or otherwise of that policy with OÂ’Neill being quoted as an 8/11 favourite by
Boylesports on Wednesday evening. However, there has been support too for the likes of Mick McCarthy, Roy Keane, Chris Hughton and Brian McDermott, and Delaney admitted those men would be among those to be considered.
