AS A FORMER Stoke City player and current Ireland international, Jon Walters is well-placed to speak about the speculation linking Martin O’Neill to a Premier League return.
With Quique Sanchez Flores turning down the chance to take the reins at the bet365 Stadium, the Potters have reportedly refocused their attention on persuading the 65-year-old former Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland boss to replace Mark Hughes, according to The Telegraph.
If O’Neill does accept, there’s a good chance he could take assistant Roy Keane with him — although The Irish Sun claim the Corkman could be offered the hotseat by the FAI with old foe Mick McCarthy another alternative.
Burnley forward Walters, capped 51 times for the Boys in Green, believes his international boss would be a solid choice for the club he spent seven years with.
“I’m a Stoke fan as well, because obviously I was there for so long,” Walters told the BBC.
“If I was Stoke City, I’d be clamouring to appoint him. Stoke need organising, they need something because they’re down in the bottom three and it’s such a fantastic club.
I hope they get out of that and I think appointing him [O'Neill would be a good choice], whether Roy would come with him as well — I don’t know the ins and outs and whether he’s been offered it.
“With Ireland, we were fourth favourites to get out of the group behind Serbia, Austria and Wales. Everyone gave us no chance and a lot of people are judging him on the Denmark game, which was a terrible result, but if you look at how we’ve done under him with Ireland I can only sing his praises.”
18th-placed Stoke are away to Manchester United in the Premier League tomorrow night, with caretaker manager Eddie Niedzwiecki due to take charge.
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I’d like to see Brian Kerr given another chance.A very positive forward thinking manager who still has the best win record for Ireland,is younger than O’Neill,and what he achieved with the Faroe Islands was phenomenal.Spend five minutes on Twitter and the Ipswich fans can’t wait to get rid of Mick.The word dinosaur seems to crop up a lot.For me Kerr who be a no brainer.
@Padraig: I think Kerr could have more of an impact given a remit at under age level, alongside Ruud Dokter. Or maybe even in charge of the under 21 team. It’s a real pity he’s gone completely unused.
I would miss Roy. I think he and Brian Kerr would be a good team.
@GARFARKLE: Roy over the senior and Kerr over the under 21s with a consulting role in the seniors, aiding with player transition to the senior side (even with an eye on the under 19s which looks like a hotbed at the moment). That would be great.
@EnKy: Good one. Thank you for expanding my point.
Bring back Mick
I wonder if Johnny Walters is only saying that because he’s gone from Stoke now, and he knows how detrimental MON is to the Irish team with his insistence, like Trappatoni’s, that the Irish players aren’t any good, and thus shouldn’t be allowed play football.
And finally:
Former Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni calls time on managerial career – after his wife said she’d ‘change the locks’ if he left again
https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/giovanni-trapattoni-retire-ireland-team-11841576
I think the fai will go for McCarthy.
Yea,let’s clamber for O’Neill,he’s won so much for Ireland!
Need an extension on the trophy room.
Actually can’t believe w
@Gary O’Hanlon: can’t believe people want Roy Keane as a manager. He is clueless. Passion, desire, commitment that’s all he ever says.