Updated at 13.24
THERE HAVE been three interim Ireland managers taking the reins before John O’Shea.
Former Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians manager Seán Thomas was appointed following the resignation of Liam Tuohy for a 1-1 friendly draw away to Norway before John Giles’ appointment in 1973.
Between the appointments of Mick McCarthy and Brian Kerr, former U21 boss Don Givens took charge of a 0-0 draw away to Greece in November 2002.
The same man also managed the team between the Steve Staunton and Giovanni Trapattoni eras, overseeing a 2-2 draw with Wales in a Euro 2008 qualifier and a 1-0 friendly loss to Brazil in Croke Park.
Meanwhile, often erroneously remembered as an interim manager, Alan Kelly Senior initially had planned to take over from John Giles on a long-term basis,
Kelly oversaw a 2-0 friendly victory over Switzerland in his only match in charge.
He was also coaching Preston while running a sports business there.
In that era, Irish managers were not paid well and Kelly concluded he could not devote the time necessary to the job.
Consequently, the only manager with a 100% record stepped aside, prompting his assistant boss Eoin Hand to take charge.
Of the interim managers, Noel King’s reign is probably the most memorable.
After the near miss before the 2010 World Cup and ending Ireland’s 24-year wait to qualify for the Euros in 2012, the Giovanni Trapattoni era had petered out badly.
People tend to remember the 6-1 home defeat to Germany as the nadir, but Trapattoni managed Ireland on 12 more occasions before being relieved of his duties.
Ambitions of qualifying for the World Cup had faded by the time King took charge for the final two qualifiers. Nonetheless, they retained faint mathematical hopes of securing a playoff spot but required an improbable win in Cologne.
King’s first squad saw several players who had fallen out of favour under Trapattoni recalled.
Nottingham Forest’s Andy Reid (after a five-year absence), Wolves’ Kevin Doyle, Darron Gibson of Everton and Celtic’s Anthony Stokes were all welcomed back.
By contrast, there was no place for Trap regulars like Simon Cox, Andy Keogh, Darren O’Dea and Conor Sammon. Meanwhile, Stoke star Stephen Ireland’s long exile from international football continued despite the player’s agent telling King he was interested in making a comeback in the future.
King also hinted there could be a bigger role for Norwich’s Premier League star Wes Hoolahan, a player largely overlooked during the Trapattoni years.
Given that the home game against Germany had gone so badly, the pre-match narrative centred on whether Ireland would shut up shop against the soon-to-be world champions, or if a more expansive approach was viable.
Their prospects were not helped by the absence of two of their most experienced defenders — Richard Dunne and John O’Shea — through suspension.
The game was not one-way traffic — Ciaran Clark hit the bar with a first-half header, while Anthony Stokes also went close on two occasions.
However, the outcome rarely appeared in doubt after Sami Khedira’s deflected shot put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute before Andre Schurrle doubled their advantage.
Mesut Ozil’s put gloss on the scoreline in stoppage time, with the 3-0 result a fair reflection of German dominance — it would have been more had it not been for a series of excellent saves by Irish goalkeeper David Forde.
King’s starting XI, with its 4-2-3-1 formation, included several surprises following the late withdrawals through injury of Robbie Keane and Anthony Pilkington.
25-year-old Seamus Coleman — again, a player Trapattoni had been accused of under-utilising — was named captain for the first time.
There was an abundance of central midfielders in the team. Glenn Whelan was played on the right wing, with Kevin Doyle on the left. James McCarthy and Darron Gibson were in the centre.
Anthony Stokes was handed a first competitive start in six years, while 32-year-old Damien Delaney made his full competitive debut.
In addition, Stephen Kelly, Ciaran Clark and Marc Wilson were part of a makeshift backline.
Germany, meanwhile, played without a recognised striker but still managed to cause the Irish defence numerous problems.
“It’s difficult to play against a side that doesn’t play with a centre forward,” Delaney told RTÉ afterwards. “It’s more a mental battle than anything else. People are coming in and out of space, the way they rotate the front and midfield players is something special. It was an eye-opener.
“You have got to give Noel King a lot of credit. He started working on the game plan on Tuesday and I think he has been superb, and I genuinely mean that.
“The levels of professionalism that he had in everything that he has done and the levels of communication have been brilliant with the players, in terms of on the training pitch and putting a game plan in place.”
Not everyone was so enthralled with King’s management, however.
RTÉ pundit Eamon Dunphy criticised King’s team selection, describing it as “tactically illiterate” and said the interim boss made “Giovanni Trapattoni look like Pep Guardiola”.
King was scathing after learning of criticism from the panel: “How many times have you watched that comedy show?” he asked reporters. “It’s so old, so so antiquated. It’s a funny show and that’s what they do. I’d be disappointed if they didn’t do that. Real football people know what went on tonight.”
The post-match interview was similarly tense. When Tony O’Donoghue questioned King about players being “out of position,” the manager said: “There was only one player out of position, but he’s played there as a young boy and not so long ago as well.”
The dreaded debate about Ireland’s technical ability and style that dominated the Stephen Kenny discourse was also brought up.
O’Donoghue asked whether Ireland were confident passing the ball and if that issue could be changed, while King replied: “There’s no way we could outpass Germany — not a hope in hell.”
King also made no substitutions, leaving the creative likes of Hoolahan and Reid on the bench, arguing that the starting XI “deserved to stay on the park”.
The subsequent 3-1 win over Kazakhstan days later confirmed Ireland’s fourth-place finish in the group.
It was a much more attacking lineup with Keane, Reid, Doyle and Stokes all accommodated, though there were grumbles about Aiden McGeady, a natural winger, being left on the bench.
Moreover, the routine victory was not enough to alleviate criticism.
When asked about the lack of natural wingers, King responded: “Germany scored three goals [against the Kazakhs], we scored three goals. Don’t talk to me about that, will you?”
King then accused O’Donoghue of not doing his homework, amid the suggestion that Kevin Doyle and Anthony Stokes “played out of position,” arguing they operated there at club level.
“Kevin Doyle has played has played on the right-hand side umpteen times. Anthony Stokes played on the left umpteen times. So this conversation is incorrect.”
And when it was implied that Kazhakstan weren’t strong opposition, King replied: “They drew with Austria 0-0. Sweden beat them 1-0. This is typical, don’t degrade the players’ performance.”
Back in the studio, Dunphy remained unimpressed. “He’s been shown to be out of his depth. Way, way out of his depth.
“That response [with O'Donoghue] proves that he can’t handle even a small bit of pressure after a win.
“He’s a bully. And he tried to bully RTÉ on Friday night by making the panel the issue.”
There was speculation that the enmity between Dunphy and King went back to a training ground bust-up when they played together in the 1970s. However, the manager batted away rumours of a physical altercation.
In an Irish Examiner piece headlined ‘King denies claims he broke Dunphy’s nose,’ King said: “No, I didn’t break his nose. Not at all. He ran away too quickly. I couldn’t catch him (laughs). Let’s say he ran up the wall.”
In the following years, there would be plenty more tense conversations between O’Donoghue and the man who eventually succeeded King permanently, Martin O’Neill.
The Derry native was similarly not a fan of the RTÉ panel.
King, meanwhile, returned to his job as U21 manager and most recently managed the Shelbourne women’s team before stepping down at the end of last season.
While O’Shea might be able to avoid similar fireworks in his temporary stint, whoever does become the next permanent Ireland manager will have to contend with media criticism.
One member of O’Shea’s team, Brian Kerr, certainly didn’t hold back when it came to his assessment of the Stephen Kenny reign and the mood will be similarly unforgiving if results go awry for the next man in charge.
Correction: An earlier version of this article neglected to mention King’s first name.
