Brian Kerr: 'I was asked to help out for two matches and that’s finished. As far as I’m concerned, I’m finished'

Rónán MacNamara reports from the Aviva Stadium

Switzerland brought the curtain down on Brian Kerr’s reign in charge of the Republic of Ireland and he expects that his role as technical advisor to John O’Shea will face the same fate after Tuesday’s 0-1 defeat to the Swiss at the Aviva Stadium.

Kerr was brought back into the FAI fold for the first time since leaving his post as manager nineteen years ago to form part of interim boss John O’Shea’s backroom staff and while the wait for a permanent successor to Stephen Kenny looks set to extend to mid-April, Kerr insists he won’t be part of any future management ticket.

“I was asked to help out for two matches and that’s finished. As far as I’m concerned, I’m finished,” said Kerr who was pleased to receive some closure after what he felt was a classless dismissal by the FAI in 2005.

“The way I finished wasn’t very nice. It wasn’t very nice to get a letter in the post after working for them for eight or nine years.

“You get a letter in the post saying they decided not to renew your contract and would you send us the money you owe us for tickets and give us back the computer and the car and phones and any paperwork you have for us.

“It lacked class and it disappointed me at the time because I done my bit. I done it as a volunteer with Liam Tuohy in the ’80s as well. It was just poor.

“But anyway, I have enjoyed this period and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with the international team again and working with those players. They’re a lovely group of lads.

“They made me feel very welcome and they were very open to any bits of advice I had to give them. I’ve really enjoyed their company.

“Irish people can be proud of them. Their parents and their clubs; they really are a very impressive group of lads.”

The Dubliner will now return to his TV and radio punditry roles and doesn’t see the need to return to the senior setup with Ireland in the future.

“I haven’t been asked to do anything else. I’ve enjoyed that time. I don’t know whether I would want to do any more. I have commitments to the media, which I have broken over the last few weeks.

“Both Virgin and Off The Ball have been very cooperative in allowing the time out to do this, but I don’t have any problem going back to do that again.

​“I found this really interesting, intensive, demanding and I don’t know how important my contribution was. The initial question I asked John [O’Shea] was, ‘Why do you think you need me, can you not do it yourself?’ I said the same thing to Jonathan Hill, and having looked at him over the last few days and looked at the staff working, I don’t think there is a great necessity for me.”

As far as what Kerr believes should be the profile of the new Republic of Ireland manager he doesn’t entirely subscribe to the theory suggested that the new man should be Irish.

In fact, nobody born in the Republic of Ireland has guided the national team to a major tournament and Kerr, a former manager of the Faroe Islands refused to close the door on bringing in an experienced name from Europe.

“When I went to the Faroes, it was a massive honour to trust someone with a national team, I always think that,” says Kerr, aware that of the four managers who took the Republic to a major finals, two (Jack Charlton and Giovanni Trapattoni) were non-nationals.

“Previous managers of Ireland who weren’t from Ireland have done very well. You don’t need to name them. So if the association decides to go that way, the players will get along with it and the country will get along with it and it will be up to him to devise a way of playing that helps us get the results that everyone wants to see us get and give us a hope of qualifying for tournaments again.”

John O’Shea puts hat in the ring for Ireland job: ‘I’m more than ready and capable to be a manager’ - https://t.co/94rjArr8tjhttps://t.co/MaXZ2PTyto

— extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) March 27, 2024