CHELSEA MANAGER THOMAS Tuchel has given a ringing endorsement to new Republic of Ireland assistant coach Anthony Barry.
Barry has replaced Damien Duff on Stephen Kenny’s coaching staff, and will link up with the squad for the first time ahead of this month’s World Cup qualifiers with Serbia and Luxembourg.
Barry is also a first-team coach at Chelsea, and will combine his duties with Ireland with his role at the London club. First recruited by Frank Lampard from Wigan at the start of the season, Barry was retained by Thomas Tuchel when the German coach was appointed in January.
“You can be very happy”, Tuchel told The42 during a Chelsea press conference today. “You are very lucky: a top coach will join you and your coaching staff. We didn’t know him before, he was already here under Frank, but from the first moment he was a big part of our coaching team. He’s a fantastic guy with a fantastic character, very open and friendly.”
Barry took early retirement as a player to move into coaching, first joining Paul Cook’s staff at Wigan Athletic, and was recruited by Chelsea at the start of the season having impressed Lampard on a Uefa Pro Licence coaching course. He turned down the Fleetwood Town managerial role in favour for the experience of working under Tuchel, where his primary role is to run their set pieces while also contributing to all other elements of preparation too.
“He has top quality in analysing games and giving his opinion”, continued Tuchel. “He is very comfortable on the pitch when he is in charge of exercises and he is very comfortable in front of the group. He is in charge and the specialist for all set pieces, so he is doing the video sessions and training for set pieces, and is the assistant in any other exercises.
“It is a pleasure to have him around, we absolutely do not want to miss him. So good for you guys, he will increase the level of coaching for sure, as he has top quality.”
