Paul Fennessy

IMAGINE IF an alien landed on Earth tomorrow and, for some reason, wanted you to explain to them Irish football’s problems.

It would take hours, or even days, to give a proper and comprehensive explanation.

But perhaps they would prefer just one phrase that sums up the nation’s footballing woes.

Were that the case, three words come to mind — short-term thinking.

Irish football’s difficulties can be boiled down to short-term thinking.

During years when millions in finances were available, for example, the choice was made to invest in high-profile international managers rather than in coaching and development at the grassroots level.

Too often, Irish football has been reactionary — trying to find an immediate solution for a pressing issue while remaining blissfully ignorant of the bigger picture.

This brings us to the current debate around the senior team manager.

With few other obvious names to fill the vacuum of late, there has been a renewed focus on interim boss John O’Shea and the possibility of the Waterford native landing the permanent gig.

There are plenty of reasons why O’Shea deserves to be considered as Ireland’s next manager proper.

He is highly thought of as a coach beyond Ireland. In addition to completing his Uefa Pro Licence course with the Football Association of Ireland in December 2022, before taking his current role, O’Shea has had coaching jobs with three Championship clubs — Reading, Stoke and Birmingham City — along with working in Jim Crawford’s Ireland U21 setup as part of the backroom team.

The former Man United defender is among the most decorated Irish footballers, with honours including five Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Champions League trophy.

O’Shea seems to have the support of players and staff. Granted, footballers rarely publicly speak ill of coaches in any situation, but there is an enthusiasm that many squad members have shown towards him in interviews that feels genuine, and you get the strong sense he would be a popular appointment in the dressing room.

Moreover, the time it has taken to appoint Stephen Kenny’s successor suggests few, if any, strong alternatives are available.

The caveat of course is O’Shea’s lack of experience and whether the Ireland job should be entrusted to a managerial novice.

The last time that happened, the consequences were dire, with Steve Staunton sacked after one qualifying campaign.

On the other hand, for every Staunton-esque failure, there is a dramatic success story.

Lionel Scaloni had never managed at senior level before taking over as Argentina boss in 2018 and he ended up guiding Leo Messi and co to World Cup glory.

There is not abundant evidence in O’Shea’s favour but any appointment will have a risk factor.

In addition, the fact that the 43-year-old has been embedded in the Irish squad for a long time as both a player and coach could be argued equally as a strength and weakness — he knows it intimately but similarly was a key part of a previously unsuccessful setup.

Nonetheless, something the FAI absolutely cannot do is decide to appoint O’Shea purely because Ireland beat Hungary 2-1 last night.

Ireland's Adam Idah celebrates after scoring his side's first goal with William Smallbone. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

Luck deserted the Boys in Green for much of Stephen Kenny’s tenure and the start of O’Shea’s — they could have and perhaps would have beaten world number three side Belgium had it not been for Evan Ferguson’s missed penalty. Yet it was on their side last night, as the Hungarians dominated large parts of the game and boss Marco Rossi’s ungenerous post-match assessment that Ireland had “two chances and they scored both of them” was only a slight exaggeration.

O’Shea even conceded that Ireland had played better in both his previous matches in charge against Belgium and Switzerland.

But it was undoubtedly an impressive, against-the-odds victory. Hungary are the 26th-best team in the world according to Fifa’s rankings — Ireland are 60th.

The Boys in Green had just two wins from 11 before last night — Hungary were unbeaten in 14.

But deciding on a manager based on one game would surely be madness, especially an end-of-season friendly. 

Particularly in international football, one-off results can be misleading. Around this time of year in 2022, Stephen Kenny’s Ireland beat Scotland 3-0. Yet the losers that day are the team going to the Euros this summer.

O’Shea deserves consideration, but appointing the former player purely because of one win would be another example of the FAI succumbing to misguided short-term thinking.

You could see the results of that short-term thinking in Ireland’s starting XI on Tuesday night.

Centre-backs are an anomaly as Irish football appears to produce them at a relatively impressive rate but elsewhere options are somewhat thin on the ground.

The wing-backs selected, Robbie Brady and Matt Doherty, are 32 and have seen better days, with 35-year-old Seamus Coleman reverting to the role in the second half.

Further up the pitch in the starting XI, it seems telling that both the central midfielders, Will Smallbone and Josh Cullen, and two out of three attackers, Sammie Szmodics and Finn Azaz, grew up in England and were produced by the English academy system.

There is nothing wrong with fielding players whose parents or grandparents emigrated to England or elsewhere if they are the best options. However, it also serves as a reminder of Ireland’s struggles to produce top-class homegrown players through the country’s academy system of late that they remain reliant on English football to develop so many future internationals.

As always, it comes back to the idea of short-term thinking, a lack of investment in grassroots and the problems that continue to be even more significant than the manager’s identity.