FAI hold talks with Chris Coleman amid ongoing search for new manager

SEARCH OVER? Former Wales manager Chris Coleman. Pic: Stephen McCarthy, Sportsfile

The FAI’s 88-day search for a men’s team manager has brought them to Chris Coleman after a failure so far to reach agreement with No 1 target Lee Carsley.

The man who led Wales to the semi-finals of Euros 2016 has met with the headhunting team of Marc Canham, Jonathan Hill and Packie Bonner but no board meeting has been scheduled to rubberstamp a deal.

Hill affirmed 10 days ago that approval of contract terms for an official offer and their chosen recommendation would be necessary from the expanded board of 14 directors.

The association’s chief executive also highlighted the restriction of a budget and it’s believed they have been unwilling to meet the cost of hiring England U21 manager Carsley and his backroom team over the proposed four-year contract.

Whether the parties compromise on a deal in the coming days remains to be seen but the revised timeline is to have a head coach installed by the end of February with a view to selecting a squad for the home double-header friendly against Belgium and Switzerland on March 23 and 26.

Carsley, who won 40 caps between 1996 and 2008, has long been interested in the vacancy but wants himself and the backroom team he’s proposed to be valued in both salary and budget to optimise a squad he deems capable of reviving the country’s fortunes.

Coleman’s appointment, should it materialise, is unlikely to be similarly embraced by Ireland’s fanbase.

Although he oversaw a golden period for the country he also captained, it was spearheaded by a world-class talent in Gareth Bale and another, not far off, in the shape of Aaron Ramsey.

The managerial record of the 53-year-old has been decidedly patchy since, suffering relegation to League One is his sole season at Sunderland and spells overseas with Hebei China Fortune and Atromitos. 

Since that 20-month Greek sojourn ended in October, Coleman has been out of work and operating on the media circuit.

Were the headhunters to recommend him for ratification to the board, it would go against Hill’s previous stated preference for an Irish-born manager.

Coleman’s late father Paddy, however, hailed from East Wall in Dublin and he rejected an offer from Jack Charlton to represent Ireland, instead earning 32 caps for his homeland.

Neither of the board meetings held last week featured an update on the manager but the emphasis of those was around the status of Hill, whose involvement in an erroneous payment in lieu of holidays episode will be further interrogated by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this Thursday.

It is plausible a rush of good news could be shovelled out by the FAI in the run-up.

Canham, the director of football, is due to give a media briefing – not the final launch as it has been wrongly billed – of his Football Pathways Plan (FPP) at Aviva Stadium tomorrow.

He also spent his Sunday informing peripheral contenders for the men's role, such as Neil Lennon, of their unsuccessful candidature.

That leaves open the prospect of a manager being unveiled on Wednesday, presuming both the board meeting is convened and the directors don’t veto who's presented for the post.

As revealed by the Irish Examiner last week, the FAI are also on the verge of ending their four-year major sponsor famine by brokering a deal with global payments firm Revolut and the fireworks attached to the breakthrough might be ignited to coincide with the new gaffer’s introduction to the public.

One man who will be relieved the saga is reaching finality is Damien Duff.

The Ireland centurion, in charge of Shelbourne for the past two years, was indirectly approached about the job but didn’t express any interest.

Duff, never one to hide his disdain for the inner workings of the FAI, said: “It's getting embarrassing now, I won't lie to you,” he said after Friday’s opening night 1-1 draw in Waterford.

“I'm not sure how long it can take to appoint a manager. Am I following it with interest? To be brutally honest, no.

“Did I have any contact…how do I word this? Maybe through someone through someone through someone asked me would I be interested in speaking to someone.

“Obviously, my answer was no. But how real it was, I don't know. I'm sure it was just a box ticker because it was never going to happen and it's never going to happen anytime soon.” 

Still the same stance if the contact had been direct?

“Absolutely. I love my Shelbourne job. I'm surrounded by brilliant people and young players that buy into everything we do.”