Former Ireland international Keith Treacy said the lengthy search for a new men's senior manager has become "shambolic" but reckons interim boss John O'Shea would not be a bad option.
The FAI - who endured more upheaval today with the resignation of CEO Jonathan Hill - is expected to announce a new manager this week, which would conclude a six-month long search after Stephen Kenny exited the job following the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Last month, director of football Marc Canham said the association would be in position to announce the new permanent manager in April after "existing contractual obligations" had been ironed out.
It was subsequently reported that Greece team manager Gus Poyet had been offered the Ireland job after his side missed out on the Euros, though had ultimately turned it down due to issues concerning his desired backroom team.
"It's absolutely shambolic at this stage," Treacy said on the RTÉ Soccer podcast. "I think it was Damien Duff about a month ago who said it was getting embarrassing now.
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"Let's not forget - I know Stephen Kenny lost his job at the end of last year - he was a dead man walking for an awful long time, for probably about six months of the last campaign.
"So, this has been going on an awful long time.
"It seems like the FAI are circling around again. As far as I understand, they spoke to Gus Poyet early doors. They were feeling him out. They've gone back to him, offered him the job and he said 'no thank you.'
"Lee Carsley's not too interested. They went initially to Anthony Barry to see where he was. He's not too interested either but they've come back around and asked him again apparently. Willy Sagnol is not interested, he's obviously going to the Euros with Georgia.
"We're in a very shallow pool. It's getting embarrassing, it really is. The next competitive game is the English in September. This keeps rumbling on and rumbling on."
💬 "We're in a shallow pool and it's getting embarrassing"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) April 15, 2024
Keith Treacy on the continuing wait for an 🇮🇪 Ireland managerial appointment as early April moves into the rearview mirror #COYBIG
📲 Full #RTESoccerPodcast: https://t.co/ZVFLDd3KHl pic.twitter.com/OyH9HGdNjv
Treacy, who earned six caps for Ireland in 2010 and 2011, believes his former international teammate O'Shea would be a reasonable option to take over, though he stressed the need for an experienced manager alongside him in the shape of Brian Kerr.
"John is not a bad option. I know a lot of people are looking at his managerial experience. He hasn't got a lot of that.
"But the likes of a Brian Kerr has to go with him. It has to happen. They have to be hand in hand.
"If John comes in, all the knives (will be) out that he's never managed a club or a country. But if Brian comes along, he has that wealth of knowledge you need. He can handle people, he's a very good man manager. And he gets his point across really well. You see him in the media, he understands the game really well.
"With Glenn Whelan, we've already seen a little improvement in the middle of the pitch. The distances between our back four and our midfield two was a lot better, a lot tighter, we were harder to play against.
"The little basics of the game have gotten an awful lot better. I know there wasn't a lot at the top end of the pitch but we bring the opposition into account there.
"I don't think John is anybody's first choice. But somebody who has 118 caps for their country and played so many years for Manchester United, I think we can forgive his managerial CV and say 'look, there's not a lot of other people that fancy it, why not give it to John?'"
Surveying the process as a whole, Treacy has particular issues with the FAI's handling of the media and their management of expectations. In this respect, he also cites ex-manager Kenny's bullish predictions ahead of the 2022 Nations League, which he contends, heaped further pressure on all concerned.
"Marc Canham talking about 'we have somebody in place'. The way he was speaking, it was like the contract was signed, it was in the desk drawer, we just have to whip it out and it'll be done and dusted.
"Clearly, that's not the case because two or three weeks ago, they offered Gus Poyet the job after Greece didn't make the Euros.
"We had Stephen Kenny before that saying 'I think we can beat Ukraine, I think we can top the group, we're not going to play this British style of football.' Is anybody getting any media training here? It just seems off the wall.
"Marc Canham has put the FAI under so much pressure to get this done over the next couple of days. And Stephen Kenny, before that, the way he dealt with the media in terms of expectations with this new team. Some of it was absolutely off the wall.
"I think they just need to be a bit cleverer about how they speak to the media. They're putting too much weight on themselves. Because they're scratching around looking for a manager and they're very close to pushing the panic button."
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