Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel has dismissed suggestions that his assistant Anthony Barry could become Republic of Ireland manager.
Barry served as an assistant to ex-Boys in Green boss Stephen Kenny for a year - combining the role with a position on Tuchel's coaching staff during the German's tenure at Chelsea - before departing to join Roberto Martinez's Belgium set-up in February 2022. Following the Spaniard's appointment as head coach of Portugal in February, Barry went with him.
Barry has been combining his Portugal coaching role with with his position as a setpiece specialist at Bayern since April.
He has recently been among the names linked with the current Ireland vacancy.
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However, speaking at his Friday press conference ahead of Bayern's Bundesliga match against Stuttgart, Tuchel gave those reports short shrift.
"It's just not true. You can forget about that. That's not at all an issue," he said at a press coference.
Other names linked with the Ireland job include Lee Carsley and Chris Hughton, whilst Neil Lennon, Sam Allardyce and Steve Bruce have indicated interest in speaking to the FAI about the position.
Ex-Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given described his former Ireland team-mate Carsley as the "perfect fit" with the former Everton midfielder held in high regard having led the England Under-21s to European Championship glory earlier this year.
"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," Given said 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."
Former Ireland full-back Stephen Kelly backed Hughton's credentials as a manager, having experienced his coaching methods during the 65-year-old's time on the staff at Tottenham.
The former Boys in Green international, who was also part of Brian Kerr's Ireland set-up between 2003 and 2005, has previously managed English clubs including Newcastle, Brighton and Norwich and is currently Ghana head coach.
"He has a wealth of experience. You just have to look at what he has done with teams in and around the Championship, and that's where I’d put our team [Ireland], a top-end Championship side, who he could get the best out of," Kelly told RTÉ 2fm's Game On this Tuesday.
