O’Neill & Keane Walk

Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane both step down from their roles in the Republic of Ireland squad. Manager, O’Neill failed to win any of Ireland’s UEFA Nations League fixtures and as a result, was relegated to the fourth tier.

This proved to be the tipping point for O’Neill and his assistant, Roy Keane. Two goalless draws would be the only points Ireland picked up from their four fixtures. When O’Neill took over from the Trapattoni reign, they found early success in their Euro 2016 campaign. Qualifying for the tournament earned the support from the fans but when the national team reached the Last 16, it was uncharted territory for the Irish. The squad were unfortunate to meet the eventual winners of the competition, France so early on in the Knock Outs.

Since the Summer of 2016, however, results and man management hasn’t exactly gone to script. Hiring Roy Keane at any role in a football club will have its perks but his strong character can often formulate personal issues in the club. One altercation which caught a lot of media attention was the training ground bust-up between Keane and Burnley Defender, Harry Arter. Strong words were exchanged, more so on Roy’s part. This led to Arter withdrawing himself from the national team up until October just gone.

Ireland is yet to appoint a replacement for O’Neill but PaddyPower has a strong list of suspects for the role. Favourite of the bunch is Mick Mccarthy who is 5/6 to take over. An unlikely candidate is Harry Redknapp at 33/1, they will have to do paper talks in the jungle though.