Roy Keane primed to step up if Martin O’Neill departs

Roy Keane is primed to step into the void left by Martin O’Neill should Leicester City’s attempt to prise the Ireland manager back to his former club come to fruition.

Speculation on O’Neill’s future intensified yesterday when a number of bookmakers stopped taking bets on the Derryman succeeding Nigel Pearson, sacked last month, as boss at the King Power Stadium.

Whilst the FAI refused to comment on the matter amid reports of Leicester intending to seek their permission over the weekend to discuss the vacancy with O’Neill, it appears Abbotstown chiefs have a battle on their hands to retain their supremo.

The 63-year-old’s contract, and that of his assistant Keane, expires at the end of the current European Championship campaign but, given Ireland’s precarious fourth position in the group, accepting a concrete Premier League opportunity now rather than wait for offers in the future might be desirable.

O’Neill’s elevation to leading candidate for the vacancy is hardly surprising, since he’s held in high esteem by the club’s hierarchy and fans for kick-starting a run of success in 1996 that included promotion to the Premier League, two League Cup triumphs and European qualification.

Unlike fellow contender Neil Lennon, his former manager has a track record of Premier League progress despite a patchy spell in his last role at Sunderland.

It’s unlikely Keane would follow O’Neill to Leicester as his No 2.

The chance of resuming a managerial role, albeit in challenging circumstances, is one the Corkman is certain to relish while the continuity provides a degree of comfort to the FAI given the critical three months ahead in the campaign.

Failure to beat either Poland or Scotland in recent home qualifiers leaves Ireland trailing the third-placed Scots by two points heading into the final four matches.

World champions Germany and Poland are on course to secure the automatic berths to France next year and, considering the Scots lead Ireland in the head-to-head battle too, a three-point buffer must be wiped out for the Irish to sneak a play-off place at their expense.

The possibility of O’Neill job-sharing until the end of the qualifying campaign has not been dismissed.

However FAI chief executive John Delaney has been historically averse to such an arrangement. Losing their manager at this crucial juncture of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign would represent a seismic body-blow to the organisation.

The level of compensation too, at this advanced stage of his two-year contract, is sure to be nominal.

Only a tenuous link to Nottingham Forest last year has threatened O’Neill’s stay in the post, different to Keane who chose double-jobbing as Aston Villa assistant boss just four weeks after rejecting an offer to become Celtic manager.

Keane may well emerge the winner from this saga.

At a time when the national mood around the international team is on the floor, the scope for a new hero to emerge exists.

The interim aspect of the role could constitute the challenge he craves.