McCaffrey confirms McGuirk as Under 19 assistant

Republic of Ireland youth manager Sean McCaffrey has confirmed that Tony McGuirk will continue as his assistant to the Under 19 side.

McGuirk, who is Pat Devlin's assistant at Bray Wanderers, was assistant to McCaffrey during his caretaker tenure as Under 19 manager during 2003 and the manager is delighted that their partnership will continue.

"Since Brian Kerr put myself and Tony together back in February to look after the Under 19s, he is a terrific fella' and great to work with," he said. "He's a brilliant coach, has a great football mind and is terrific to have around the squad.

"He didn't travel to France with us in December (for a 3-3 draw when St Patrick's Athletic's Martin Russell was assistant) because Bray were in the play-offs at the time but when I was appointed to the job, it was always going to be Tony who'd be my assistant.

However, McCaffrey confirmed that McGuirk would not be his assistant manager at Under 17 level. "He has a lot of commitments with Bray and it would be unfair on him, on Bray and on Ireland."