Kenny closing in on Anthony Barry's replacement

The highly regarded coach will be in the opposition dugout alongside Roberto Martinez when the Republic of Ireland face Belgium

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny

Stephen Kenny says he could have Anthony Barry’s replacement installed before Ireland’s next game against Belgium on Saturday fortnight.

Barry will be in the opposition dugout alongside Roberto Martinez on March 26 after recently jumping ship from the Ireland manager’s backroom team.

The highly regarded coach – whose day job is part of Thomas Tuchel’s staff at Chelsea – was considered a driving force of Ireland’s revival during 2021. 

He succeeded the departed Damien Duff, coinciding with a switch in formation identical to Chelsea’s, and a greater emphasis on set-pieces.

At Thursday’s press conference on foot of last night’s confirmation of contract extensions for Kenny and his staff to encompass next year’s Euro qualifiers, the manager was hopeful of confirming Barry's successor in the near future.

“It’s quite possible that we could have another coach in before Belgium but we’ll deal with that in due course,” he said about the double-header at the Aviva Stadium that includes a meeting with Lithuania on March 29.

Kenny denied that the delay in finalising the contract renewals – from early December when he first met chief executive Jonathan Hill – contributed to Barry’s exit.

“That’s probably not accurate because he made his decision to go to Belgium. It was a professional decision and we respect it. I’ve a great relationship with Anthony. This is not unusual across international football. With England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all their assistants have moved over in the last 18 months. That’s part of international football.” 

Kenny (50) insisted the protracted nature of negotiations were irrelevant in the context of his continuance in the job. It is believed the main sticking point centred on agreeing a minimum severance package should the FAI lose faith in their boss during the contract and relieve him of his duties.

The manager, whose deal was due to expire in July, will remain on his €550,000 salary but will be paid far less than that annual wage should, for example, the board feel the Nations League campaign starting in June doesn’t meet expectations.

“From Christmas to March is only a minor delay,” reasoned Kenny. “We're here now and it's signed.

“It's not just myself. We've a whole backroom team that we've got to address and so forth.

“It's a good thing, we're not looking back saying why did this take three months rather than a month?

“A lot of things have to be managed in a big organisation like this, so I think it's irrelevant really.” 

Hill, who revealed the FAI are awaiting direction from Fifa and Uefa about the implications of the postponed play-off between Scotland and Ukraine on their June schedule, added: “I do firmly believe that it's really important that we continue to have an Irishman at the top of our Irish coaching system.”