Former Republic of Ireland captain and OTB’s favourite foodie Kenny Cunningham has emerged as a candidate for the vacant St Patrick’s Athletic job.
Ger O’Brien, Pat Fenlon and Paul Doolin are also understood to be in the running for the vacancy following the departure of Liam Buckley according to John Fallon's report in Tuesday's Irish Examiner.
O'Brien will likely form part of any managerial team appointed for next season. Cunningham met with the owner Gareth Kelleher last week in Dublin, while Paul Doolin and Pat Fenlon are also reported to have been interviewed for the vacancy.
Cunningham watched from the stands as the Saints were beaten by Bohemian 3-1 in the SSE Airtricity League last month, that was the final straw for manager Liam Buckley as he departed in the wake of that defeat.
Ger O’Brien has been in caretaker charge of the team since then and was in the dugout for last Friday’s 1-1 draw against Dundalk. The former Saints skipper though does not have the necessary qualifications to take the role on full time.
O’Brien is eager to enroll on the UEFA Pro License course and is understood to have told club owner Gareth Kelleher that he would like to be considered for a role with the club going forward.
He told Eir Sport last month that the manager’s job might come too soon for him: “To be honest I’ve applied for my pro license and that’s something I want to do, I’ve worked with Liam for so long as a player and a coach.
“I’ll speak to Gareth going forward, I’m still quite young and I’m still learning the game from a coaching perspective and there are so many good managers that are not in a job.
“I’ll just do my best now for the club for the next couple of weeks and I’ll try win as many game as possible and we can sit down at the end of the season and look at which way the club is going forward.”
