Mick McCarthy to take over as Ireland manager

Former Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy will reportedly take over as Republic of Ireland manager with Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny set to fill in as the new U21 manager

Both RTE and the Irish Examiner are reporting that McCarthy will be confirmed as manager of the senior team with Kenny to take over the U21s and then succeed McCarthy after the Euro 2020 finals. Numerous reports have indicated that McCarthy will agree to a two-year, €2.4million deal with the FAI while Kenny made his case for the top job earlier this week in an interview with Emmet Malone of The Irish Times.

"Do I think that I could take charge of the next generation of Irish players and turn them into a really cohesive team; combining the best virtues of Irish sides – the honesty, work-rate and passion that we’ve shown down the years – but introducing a more European style of play, a more fluid and expansive way? Yes, I do." "Well, philosophy is an overused word," he continued.

"But it's the way I view the game and I think it’s the way a lot of players love to play the game.

"Midfield players love to be able to join in, to receive in on the half-turn, link with their front players, there must be movement off the line from wide players, full backs overlapping, connections..."

Meanwhile, record goalscorer Robbie Keane has been mooted as a potential assistant to McCarthy although he has yet to formally retire as a player after briefly serving as a player-manager for Indian Super League side ATK.