Gus Poyet declares interest in taking over as Ireland manager
HAND UP IF YOU WANT TO MANAGE IRELAND: Greece manager Gus Poyet during the UEFA EURO 2024 Championship qualifying group B match between Republic of Ireland and Greece. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Gus Poyet is interested in pitching to become the next Ireland manager as Stephen Kenny’s disastrous reign nears endgame.
Double-defeat to Poyet’s Greece, the latest a 2-0 reverse on Friday at Aviva Stadium, was central to Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification ambitions being over with two games to spare.
The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur attacker has relaunched his managerial career on his first international assignment, defying their fourth seeding in Group B to be jockeying for Netherlands for the second ticket to Germany next year alongside a French side already there by winning all six of their pool matches.
As a fallback, they are guaranteed a playoff next March by topping their Nations League C late last year. The Uruguayan had first managed in England with Brighton and Hove Albion and Sunderland.
His role in resurrecting a Greek side without a tournament qualification since the 2014 World Cup has drawn admirers and the FAI may consider pouncing after they bring Kenny’s three-and-a-half year tenure to an end following the November 22 friendly against New Zealand – at the latest.
The 56-year-old certainly seems open to the upcoming vacancy. He’s had Ireland’s number over this campaign and sees potential in the squad to leave behind a dark period that’s slumped the team towards the sixties of FIFA’s World rankings.
“I would love that - absolutely love that,” said Poyet, whose contract expires over the next year.
“I think it is a terrific place to come and play football. When we first came into Aviva stadium, the reaction of the players was ‘wow’.
“I was even surprised coming from the hotel, watching the people. I pay attention a lot. How many people have got the tracksuit? The black one. How many people have the green.
“Listen, in Uruguay we are patriots, but I don’t think many people buy the national team tracksuit. I don’t remember, maybe I am wrong. The shirt? Yes. But I don’t think many people buy the tracksuit. They are there with the tracksuit. That is proper, proper support.”
Poyet insists declining to shake the hand of Keith Andrews was appropriate after a fractious build-up between the teams. He angrily denied that his former player at Brighton, Gary Dicker, had supplied inside knowledge of the Irish set-up when he visited a Greece training session days before the June match in Athens, won 2-1 by the hosts.
“I didn’t want to create a scene,” he said about Kenny’s assistant.
“Probably somebody was pulling Keith. We prepared for the game that Ireland would play five defenders so went ‘whoa, whoa’ when we saw the four on the teamsheet.
“We watched a little bit of the warm-up and find out and then even go out onto the pitch and understanding with the players certain things.
“Gary is proper Irish and cares so much. And when he asked me to come to watch training because he was going to the game. I said ‘Gary, you are going to make me train nothing because you come in and we talk about Brighton.
“Because he is working there and I was delighted with the way Brighton play. He tried to explain a little bit about what was happening at Brighton without giving too much away, so there was nothing really.”
Kenny refused to back Andrews on the claims, only rationalise his stance.
“Keith obviously felt the optics weren’t great - an Irish coach going to Athens to meet the Greek manager, or attend training or whatever it was. I’ve no real comment to make (but) I’m not accusing anyone of anything.”
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