"My understanding is it's not going to be Lee Carsley" - Shay Given gives his verdict on next Irish manager

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Former Republic of Ireland international Shay Given has casted further doubt that Lee Carsley will be appointed the next Republic of Ireland manager.

Following Manchester City's victory over Copenhagen in their first leg of the Champions League round of 16, the RTÉ panel last night consisting of Daragh Maloney, Richie Sadlier, and Shay Given addressed the popular topic of discussion currently, who is going to be the next Republic of Ireland manager. 

Speaking on RTÉ 2 television last night, the Donegal native with 134 Irish caps to his name said, "My understanding is that it's not going to be Lee Carsley. Maybe not now but maybe in the future."

"So where does that leave us and the FAI? We're left with the likes of Neil Lennon, Roy Keane, Chris Coleman, and Chris Hughton. There's a few weeks until the next international game so a manager should be in place now. 

“He (the manager) needs to looking at the players, picking his squad, who's in who's out? It’s not ideal." Given added. 

Carsley and Given were international teammates between 1996 and 2003. The former is the current England U-21 manager and has been the FAI first choice to replace Stephen Kenny. 

The former Irish goalkeeper is not the first former Ireland international to state Carsley will not be the next Irish manager with Jason McAteer sharing a similar view.

Ireland's first international game is set to take place in the Aviva Stadium in 6 weeks’ time where they will face Belgium in an international friendly on March 23rd.

The Irish international manager has yet to be appointed, while the Irish squad are just 6 weeks out from the first international friendly of the season where they will face Belgium on March 23rd in the Aviva Stadium.



Looking ahead to the 2024 calendar, Richie Sadlier was unsure whether Ireland’s tough schedule was a positive or negative to entice the next manager.

"I've never managed, and I don't know what the mindset of an out of work manager is, but I don't know if their fixture list would sway me for a job. By mid-February I thought that there would be an appointment."

Ireland has four international friendlies lined up before the Nations League campaign begins. 

First up is Belgium and Switzerland in March at home, then the Boys in Green will play Hungary in Dublin in June before heading overseas to the Algarve where they face Portugal on June 11th.

The Nations League draw took place last Thursday where Ireland drew England, Greece and Norway for home and away fixtures that take place between September and November of this year.

Last week, one of the favourites for the Irish job gave an update on the situation.



About Rory Merriman

Rory Merriman is a St. Patrick’s Athletic fan who studied journalism in TU Dublin and has written for numerous publications both online and print. He joined the extratime.com team in 2023. View Full Profile