Niall Quinn: Roy Keane changed a city, he can do still do that with Ireland
Ireland football legend Niall Quinn has teamed up with FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie
As Heimir Hallgrimsson prepares to roll the dice for the final time in this campaign, he clings to the hope that Ireland can profit from a dramatic upturn in fortunes.
Others feel he is just clutching at straws with Ireland’s World Cup ambitions - and his own job - in danger of being snuffed out once and for all.
If this week goes badly, it’s hard to see how he survives with his contract running to a natural conclusion at the end of Ireland’s involvement in their 2026 quest.
With Indonesia known to be sniffing around the Icelander, and calls already for a big name to replace him with Euro 2028 coming to these shores, there’s an unmistakable end of days feel to the week.
But hey, who knows for certain what will unfold this Thursday and Sunday and it’s why the former Ireland striker Niall Quinn is prepared to hold judgement, for now.
Quinn is not convinced that changing the manager is always the answer, and hopes the players produce two performances to at least give the FAI some food for thought.
However, he accepts that having a high profile name in charge of the national team would probably serve the cause well beyond this stuttering campaign.
In his former life as Sunderland chairman, it was Quinn who handed Roy Keane the keys to the Stadium of Light as a rookie manager back in 2006.
Keane enjoyed measured success but his managerial career nosedived thereafter and aside from spells as Martin O’Neill’s assistant, it’s punditry where he’s found a home.
He remains the most divisive of figures, but could Keane become the next Ireland manager having been sounded out six months before Hallgrimsson was appointed?
“He changed not just the dressing room at Sunderland, he changed the city really, getting it to feel better about itself,” said Quinn yesterday.
“He'd only just finished football and had so much to offer and I'll always be grateful to him for what he did in that period of time.
“But the bit I was always surprised about was when he started to become a No 2, because I absolutely think he's a No 1 all day long. And I think there's still enough in him to do it.
“But at the same time I see a happy guy where he is now. He's box office and it's the easy life in one way, but at the same time he's brilliant at it.
“So would he risk all that now to take on the mantle of a national team? I don't know. If the fires are still burning, yeah, I'd be the first one to say that man can do exceptional things as a manager.”
What about Damien Duff who transformed Shelbourne’s fortunes, driving them to a league title before rocking the club and the league by walking away this summer?
Right now, Duff is in Qatar, serving as a FIFA technical advisor at the Under-17 World Cup.
Quinn said: “There was a feeling out there with Damien that he was going on a one-way ticket to the management of Ireland. I think that's where he was. But he's taken time out now and I really don't know what his ambition is at this point.
“He's had a fair cut at the FAI at times, so as future employers, they might remember that. I don't know. And Roy too. Let's talk about it again after these couple of games. But if either of those two got it, it would stir the pot.”
But as Quinn stressed, stirring the pot isn’t necessarily what’s needed. Not yet anyway, and not if Ireland show enough over the course of these two games against Portugal and Hungary to suggest there’s merit in keeping Hallgrimsson on for Euro 2028.
“It's a very tough job,” continued Quinn. “Stephen Kenny brought in a load of young players, blooded so many new caps and was in a real transition phase. The current manager has come in and it’s ‘you've got to do well, you've got to get us to a tournament, then everything will be great. And if not, you know, you're not good enough’.
“In an ideal world, you get a couple of years to build, maybe not make the first tournament, but then have a real go at the second one. I think that's the way the managers were always looked at.
“When Jack Charlton took over in '86, I don't think they were going to sack him because we hadn't got to Euro '88 by the time the last qualifying game came around. But he got his bit of luck there, with Scotland, and then he kicked on and the whole thing took off.”
A result against Portugal on Thursday would be a starting point for Hallgrimsson’s Ireland, even if it all smacks of hit and hope desperation.
“I was delighted after the Hungary game,” continued Quinn. “I thought ‘that's it now, they've got their mark’, but it all went backwards against Armenia. They got it back in the return game and then Hungary got the late goals in Portugal.
“There's been a lot of things to knock you and make you feel bad about it. But I'd have faith that they have an ability to play well against Portugal. I don't want to sound silly here, but I think they'll dig deep.”
And Quinn added: “If it's failure, I'd like to see heroic failure. If we fail and just timidly fall away in these games, then obviously there will be big question marks on the manager’s future.
“It's been some time since we qualified for a tournament and we seem to blame the manager every time we don't. But I just wonder if it's deeper than that. What I'd like to see from the performances is that there's encouragement to go on and keep the manager in place.
“We can get the microscope out and start picking at things that have happened in his short reign. Have we seen enough of him stamping his authority on it? Probably not. I'm not saying what's going on is perfect, but who could come in and just click their fingers and make it all work? We've got to think a little deeper and longer than that.”
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