Martin O'Neill hopes Keith Andrews is appointed Brentford manager "because then he will realise what management is all about".
Andrews, set-piece coach under Thomas Frank, is on the verge of being appointed to his first managerial role by the west London club following Frank's switch to Tottenham Hotspur.
Before coaching roles with MK Dons, Sheffield United, the Republic of Ireland and Brentford, former Ireland midfielder Andrews was a pundit during O'Neill's reign as manager of the national team.
Speaking on Talksport, it was apparent O'Neill has not forgotten Andrews' criticism of his own management.
"He has been their set-piece coach. The irony is when I was manager of the Republic of Ireland he was a particularly vitriolic critic of mine at the time. He was really dead against me trying to use setpieces to try to win games," said the former Leicester City, Celtic, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest manager.
"The irony is he becomes the set-piece coach. Really I say good luck to him. Brentford have decided, if it is the case, that he should get it."
The two-time European Cup winner also took a swipe at the playing career of the former Blackburn, Bolton and MK Dons midfielder.
"I hope he does get it because then he will realise what management is all about. It's not as easy to be sitting in a pundit's chair sitting to criticise someone who in all honesty had a much better career than he had.
"He was dealing at the bottom end of it when I was winning the European Cup. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be criticising. Everyone to their own. But it'll be a different ball game now."
O'Neill did praise some of the work Andrews did as Frank's assistant last season, as the Bees finished 10th.
"In terms of some of the decisions he has made, I think he has done very well as the set-piece coach. A lot of credit has gone to him for the fast starts Brentford have made in games.
"He is stepping into an unknown. It's all very well when you can be the friend of the players. You can have the set-pieces, you can be the coach sitting there in the room. It's a different ball game when you're making the big decisions."
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