Shay Given believes that Lee Carsley would be a perfect fit as the new head coach for the Republic of Ireland.
Based on the criteria that chief executive, Jonathan Hill, set out regarding the role that the new head coach would perform, the ex-Ireland keeper is of the view that the FAI need to look no further than his former international team-mate.
Carsley had an impressive playing career in the top flight in England, most notably at Everton, and has since gone on to guide the England Under-21s to European Championships' success in his role as head coach. Given believes that he is the obvious candidate to fill the vacant role following Stephen Kenny’s departure.
"Hearing the words 'head coach', it struck me, as someone who has been through the system before, the obvious one would be Lee Carsley, who has been through the system with the English FA," said Given, speaking on RTÉ Sport’s Champions League programme on Tuesday night.
"He is the head coach of the England Under-21s and had a brilliant tournament during the summer, they won the tournament.
"I know Lee well from playing with Ireland as well so he has that strong connection with the country, so if that is the word that is coming out of the FA, it strikes me that he would be the perfect fit.
"It sounds like they may have had a conversation already with Lee, so when you say head coach, and work with all the underage teams and do all this kind of stuff, if you were to put all that into a pot, then Lee Carsley would be the obvious candidate in my opinion."
Given went on to offer some insight into the type of coach that Carsley has become and the attributes that the 40-cap midfielder would bring to the Ireland job, stating that he is a great man-manager who players really want to play for.
"I know Joleon Lescott from my time playing at Manchester City. He was a coach with him [Carsley]) at the 21s, and I said to him 'what does he bring to the party?’
"He said he is unbelievable with the lads, his attention to detail is second to none, and he said that the lads just want to play for him, they want to run through brick walls for him, and that his man management, he has not seen before.
"So he brings all that to the party as well, if you listen to people who have worked closely with him and seen what he has done, and he has been successful as well, so he ticks a lot of boxes."
Fellow pundit Didi Hamann also offered his opinion regarding what he feels is the most important role for the new coach to fill.
Didi Hamann wants the next Republic of Ireland manager to concentrate solely on the men's senior team pic.twitter.com/AhLa7R0Nen
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 12, 2023
While the FAI have spoken about a coach who will have a real investment in all the national teams from schoolboy up to the senior side, the former Germany midfielder said that there should only be one priority.
"Ireland haven’t been to a tournament in eight years, so if I do bring in a new manager, I want him to use every ounce, every second of his time with the first team," said Hamann.
"Because if the first team doesn’t succeed, if the first team doesn’t perform, if the first team doesn’t get to tournaments, it will be near-enough impossible to generate more money for grassroots football, which you have to do.
"It all stops with the first team."
