Lee Carsley favourite for Ireland job as FAI overlook Chris Hughton

England manager Lee Carsley during the UEFA Euro U21 Championship Qualifiers.

The FAI’s search for a new men’s manager will intensify next week with Lee Carsley favourite to land the vacancy.

From an initial field of 15 candidates in December, that’s been whittled down to a final shortlist and doesn’t feature Chris Hughton.

What was recently thought to be a two-horse race between Carsley and fellow former Ireland international Hughton has perished after the Ghana boss was overlooked in the final shake-up.

Carsley, currently in charge of the England U21s he led to European gold last summer, still has competition during the run-in to a decision but it’s believed Neil Lennon nudged Hughton from the status of main rival.

Rumours of Anthony Barry’s candidacy resurfaced in recent days but that was always a non-runner after Bayern Munich confirmed no approach has been received from the FAI for permission to speak with their assistant coach.

Thomas Tuchel succeeded in luring his former Chelsea sidekick to Germany and immediately poured cold water on him departing when the original link emerged in the English media four weeks ago.

The FAI’s Director of Football Marc Canham has been tasked with sourcing a successor to Stephen Kenny, whose contract wasn’t renewed in November after a disappointing tenure encompassing 40 matches.

Chief executive Jonathan Hill revealed on December 8 that exploratory discussions had been held with ‘everyone we want to speak to’ without specifying if they’d sought permission from clubs or associations to interview contenders already employed.

It is now expected that deeper discussions will be held with the shortlisted candidates next week.

As occurred in the pursuit of a women’s manager in the latter part of 2023, Chair of the FAI’s High Performance and International committee, Packie Bonner, will be added to the interview panel alongside Canham and Hill.

Another pair of eyes and ears from outside of the FAI with a football background could also complete the delegation.

All going to schedule, the plan is for a recommendation of a preferred candidate to be put to the board for ratification. Their next meeting, a fully in-person summit, is due on Tuesday January 30.

Pending approval from the board, the new manager would be in a position to represent the association at the UEFA Nations League draw in Paris – a milestone Hill circled as desirable for their supremo to be in-situ.

Ireland play two friendlies at the Aviva Stadium, against Belgium and Switzerland, on March 23 and 26, respectively, with another pair of workouts down for the end of the club season. Hungary are likely to be one of the opponents, with another Euro-bound nation, Italy, believed to be in the mix as the other.

Forty-times capped Carsley has long been linked with the job, once it became apparent following the June defeat to Greece that Kenny’s days were numbered, but the FAI were keen to scour the market and ensure fairness in their recruitment process.

Hughton was widely considered a ‘safe pair of hands’ to take the reins but the refined role of head coach stipulated by Canham favours a portion of other options in the equation.

Former Celtic and Hibernian manager Lennon has publicly declared his interest in the post and is believed to have a degree of support at board level but still has work on the final straight to leapfrog Carsley.

"Whoever gets that job, they've got a lot of good youngsters to work with,” said former Ireland striker Clinton Morrison.

“Playing for Ireland provided me with some of the best football memories of my career, the fans are fantastic.

“They'll get behind this young group of players, as long as they give 100%. The main focus now is getting the right manager in because that’s what we need to start qualifying for tournaments."

Asked about the bookies' favourite Lennon, Robbie Keane’s former striker partner told OLBG: “I like Neil Lennon a lot – I’ve worked with him.

“He's a great bloke and good manager with a great CV and I think he would be a good appointment, if that's the route they go down.

"Another name I like a lot and would throw into the hat is Lee Carsley because he's doing a great job with England U21s.

“He was my roommate for Ireland and knows a lot about the country because he played for them, so I think he'd be the ideal appointment.

“Either Lennon or Carsley would be great for Ireland - two quality options."