According to reports this week, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) are beginning preliminary approaches to see if England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley would consider taking over from the current Republic of Ireland manager, Stephen Kenny.
Ireland's chances of reaching Euro 2024 were all but ended this week with a defeat to the Netherlands in Dublin. Ireland lost 2-1 on Sunday night, and the result means that qualification from their group is impossible.
There is also a route to the Euros via a playoff series next March, but that is also a tall order for the current Ireland team.
Kenny, who took over the Ireland job in 2020 from Mick McCarthy, has come under increased pressure in the role, and that pressure reached boiling point with the loss to the Dutch on Sunday.
It appears now that Kenny's tenure with Ireland will end with this qualifying campaign. Kenny has backed himself to see out the remaining games against Greece, Gibraltar, and the Netherlands, but there is more speculation that Kenny might not even complete those three fixtures.
A number of names have already been linked with the job. These include former Ireland captain Roy Keane, Chris Hughton, Damien Duff, and England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley.
Stephen Kenny exit plan to be finalised as FAI eye approach for Lee Carsley https://t.co/mc9kjNyLat
— John Fallon (@JFallonExaminer) September 12, 2023
According to the Irish Examiner, the Football Association (FA) is bracing itself for an approach for Carsley from the FAI.
Carsley, who won 40 caps for Ireland and led the England U-21s to their first U21 European Championship win since 1984 this summer, is the bookies' favorite to take over from Kenny should he be removed from his role.
Lee Carsley insists that the Republic of Ireland's manager's job 'is not something I've thought about.'
The former Irish midfielder, who led England to their first Euro U21 title last week and is now out of contract, has been linked with the position, but on RTE radio last night, he played down any speculation.
Speaking back in July after England's Euro glory, the former Ireland midfielder was asked about the speculation linking him to the job and responded by saying, 'It's not something I've thought about.'
'Stephen Kenny's in the job. He's doing a good job under tough circumstances,' he said.
'Thinking about the pool of players that were part of my generation that was there to pick from, compared to now, there's definitely a transition that's going on.'
Next Republic of Ireland Manager
3/1 Lee Carsley
11/2 Chris Hughton
13/2 Roy Keane
7/1 Anthony Barry
8/1 Neil Lennon
10/1 Robbie Keane
10/1 Damien Duff
12/1 Keith Andrews
14/1 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
16/1 Mick McCarthy
33/1 Sam Allardyce
33/1 Rafa Benitez
Odds subject to change
