Stephen Rice has been named the Republic of Ireland's opposition analyst/head scout on a permanent basis.
Rice was part of the staff for the Andorra and Hungary matches in the summer in the absence of Anthony Barry, who was with Chelsea for their Champions League final clash against Manchester City.
Last April Ruaidhri Higgins left the position to become manager of Derry City but Rice takes it up following his departure from Crystal Palace where he was U-23 Development Coach.
"It's a huge honour for me and my family for me to join the Ireland senior men's coaching staff," he said.
"The opportunity to work with and learn from Stephen Kenny at international level is a real privilege, and I can’t wait to get started. It’s an exciting time to be joining the team and having already experienced the fantastic atmosphere within the squad on the last camp, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming games."
Kenny is thrilled to have added Rice to his coaching ticket, adding: "He has an impressive skillset when it comes to analysing teams and players, and he is an important addition to the coaching staff ahead of September's matches.
Rice started his playing career at Coventry City and returned to the League of Ireland where he had an impressive career with Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, where he was captain, and Longford Town.
He was part of the Hoops' 2011 UEFA Europa League side who became the first Irish team to reach the group stages of the competition.
