FAI CEO JONATHAN Hill refused to be drawn on a UK newspaper report that former Ireland assistant boss Anthony Barry is in the frame to replace Stephen Kenny as head coach.
The Telegraph reported today that the FAI have identified Barry as a leading candidate to replace Kenny. Barry served on Kenny’s staff in 2021 and made a major impression, combining it with a role on Thomas Tuchel’s staff at Chelsea.
Barry then left the Irish set up to join Roberto Martinez at Belgium ahead of the 2022 World Cup, and has stuck with Martinez with Portugal. He has since linked back up with Tuchel at Bayern Munich, who paid Chelsea a release clause for his services.
The Telegraph claim Barry is a candidate for the Irish job, with the FAI having now made preliminary contact with all of the potential candidates they have identified. The paper say the FAI would have to pay Bayern compensation for his services, and report that Swansea City have expressed an interest in hiring Barry as their new manager, following the dismissal of Michael Duff.
Asked by reporters after an Oireachtas Sport Committee appearance as to whether Barry has been identified as a candidate, CEO Jonathan Hill said, “We are still talking to a number of candidates in relation to it. I am not going to say who any of those candidates are but the process is moving forward well.”
Hill also declined to say if board member Packie Bonner has any involvement in the recruitment process beyond that of having a say in granting final board approval to the preferred candidate.
“I don’t think it is appropriate what the process will be. It is robust and hopefully we will get to the right person in due course.”
Bonner is a former technical director of the FAI and chairs the association’s International and High Performance Committee.
