IF YOU WANT an idea of how football’s tectonic plates can shift quickly to create openings, just take last Sunday’s departure of John Eustace from the Ireland coaching staff.
It was a chain reaction typical of the way the business works.
The 42-year-old was confirmed as Birmingham City’s new manager after just three full months with Stephen Kenny.
But it was events at West Ham United involving Stuart Pearce, David Moyes and Mark Warburton that paved the way for Eustace’s ascent to a top job in the English Championship.
Kenny had expected his No.3 to head to St Andrews this summer but, up until late June, it appeared as if he would do so by continuing as Warburton’s right-hand man following their time together at Queens Park Rangers.
Then things changed.
The tectonic plates shifted.
When Pearce informed Moyes of his decision to leave the Premier League club on 24 May, the Scot set about recruiting a suitable replacement.
A month later that process concluded and Warburton, surprisingly for some given his role as a manager, was the one chosen. It came at a time when he had been primed to take the Birmingham job with Eustace as part of his coaching staff.
It seemed a perfect for all parties, including Kenny and Ireland, as the Englishman’s change in club employer would allow for the smooth continuation of the work he had been doing on the international front.
But once Moyes offered Warburton a route to the Premier League it proved too good to turn down.
Eustace – a local Brummie – then became the primary focus of the club’s recruitment plan, and when he was presented with the proposal to be the main man instead of Warburton, he felt it was impossible to reject.
He got in touch with Kenny and, despite intimating during his recruitment process with the FAI that a managerial role was not on his radar and that he wished to be part of both the Nations League and European Championship campaigns, he informed him of his decision to move on.
Eustace had previously rejected the chance to take over at Swansea City in May 2021 and was later approached by Watford this year following their relegation from the Premier League and the departure of veteran Roy Hodgson.
From the outside it appeared as if this Ireland exit was already on the cards, but within the FAI it was felt that he was committed to the cause.
Eustace was earmarked early on as the preferred replacement for Anthony Barry, another who had been a left-field appointment by Kenny and was later poached by Belgium boss Roberto Martinez ahead of this winter’s World Cup.
Martinez, coincidentally, was one of the online speakers booked by the FAI as part of the 2020-2022 Pro Licence Course. Sir Alex Ferguson was another, being interviewed by former Leeds United boss Howard Wilkinson for a discussion on leadership, while on Tuesday afternoon Kenny made a presentation in person during an intensive three-day block of classes.
Eustace, though, had already made a positive impression on Kenny before he was formally interviewed for the job. The Ireland boss can spend chunks of time in the UK travelling to visit clubs, players and watch matches, and it was in Birmingham where he actually got to know Eustace.
With that personal rapport in mind, Kenny met him in England to discuss the role on the international staff, before Eustace then spent two days in different locations in Dublin – one of which was FAI offices in Abbotstown – going through video analysis of Queens Park Rangers’ training sessions and games, and how they would relate to Ireland’s needs.
Keith Andrews was present for the second of those sessions and, soon after, the job was offered.
The attention to detail as well as an ability to lead sessions was pivotal, and such capabilities remain a cornerstone of what will be required by whomever replaces Eustace.
In simple terms, the dynamic on the training pitch previously was that Andrews would go through the analysis and talk through what the opposition would try and do, and Barry would then deliver the sessions on how Ireland would stop it, while implementing the game plan worked on by Kenny.
The feeling is that there will be no knee jerk reaction to fill the void quickly, although having someone in place for the next batch of Nations League games in late September will help shape the timeline.
Indeed, while numerous parties did make contact directly previously about interest in the role, there was no lengthy interview process with various candidates before.
So it’s not a case of simply scratching off Eustace’s name and going to the next in line.
Eustace, like Barry before him, had been identified and pursued.
What is understood, though, and is certainly a key factor that is going to be taken into consideration for the next appointment, is getting someone who will be commited to staying in situ until the end of the European Championship campaign, in line with the contracts of Kenny and his staff.
The No.3 coaching role is part-time, as is goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely’s position (he works full-time with Crystal Palace’s first team), while Kenny, Andrews, and opposition analyst/scout Stephen Rice are full-time FAI employees.
That gives Kenny scope to dip back into the market in the UK, not to mention Europe, while coaches already within the FAI system have not been discounted.
It is not believed that an appointment is imminent, as the dust is allowed to settle following the shifting of those tectonic plates.