Richard Dunne on Venables
Manchester City defender Richard Dunne has backed former England manager Terry Venables as a potential Republic of Ireland coach.
So convinced are the Irish bookmaking fraternity about Venables' likely appointment, they have stopped taking bets on Brian Kerr's successor.
The man who masterminded England's run to the semi-finals of Euro 96 insists he has not been approached about the job, although he has also admitted he would be interested if contact was made.
After following up a failure to qualify for the last European Championships by missing out on next summer's World Cup in Germany, Dunne - a non-playing member of Mick McCarthy's squad for the 2002 tournament - knows the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) have to get the right man.
And, while the 26-year-old Dubliner has no major preference among the leading candidates, he has already taken soundings from Gary Kelly and Ian Harte, who have both experienced life under Venables - and the feedback was very encouraging.
"I have spoken to a couple of the lads who worked with Terry Venables at Leeds," said Dunne.
"They really enjoyed his training and tactical ideas. He seemed to treat everyone with respect and they felt he was a good man to work for.
"Ireland doesn't need a big-name appointment but we do need someone who can excite people and get the public behind the team. Terry Venables is capable of doing that and if he was appointment I am sure it would go down well with the rest of the squad."
Dunne won his 25th cap in last month's goalless draw with Switzerland at Lansdowne Road, a result which allowed the visitors to squeeze into the play-offs at the expense of Kerr's men.
Irish misery was compounded by seeing the Swiss complete their passage to next year's finals in Germany by overcoming Turkey in a stormy encounter on Wednesday night which has already attracted the ire of Fifa president Sepp Blatter.
So, while there are some who believe the FAI acted with undue haste when they dispensed with Kerr's services, particularly as he smoothed tensions in the camp which erupted during Mick McCarthy's spectacular fall-out with Roy Keane, Dunne understands why it happened.
"We were in a tough group to start with and France were always going to be favourites to qualify, so it ended up being a battle between ourselves and Switzerland," he said.
"When you look back, the home defeat to France was the only result which really let us down, so in that sense Brian was unfortunate.
"But there is always going to be a problem when you don't qualify for major championships.
"The expectation of the fans and the players is that we should be playing in World Cups.
"We have a squad full of Premiership players and we should be capable of getting through the groups. But it hasn't happened in the last two tournaments and to miss out on the next one again would be a disaster."
With no match until 1 March and only friendlies to play until the European Championship qualifying campaign gets underway at the start of next season, Dunne feels the FAI have no need to rush the appointment of Kerr's successor.
"There is plenty of time and I suppose there will be a lot of interviews between now and when the appointment is made," he said.
"It is not a concern to the players. You don't get a choice who you work for.
"All we are looking for is someone who can understand us and who has the right ideas, will treat us right and show us the way.
"It will be a new experience for us all and some new ideas for us to take on board. Hopefully we will get the right man."
