Originally Posted by
EalingGreen
I have no doubt he could do an excellent job for ROI.
But unless it was with a really "big" country, I really don't see him wanting to manage any international team, at least in the foreseeable future.
Remember, he turned down Scotland, who are a bigger team than NI and potentially bigger than ROI, even though they really wanted him, and his family still lives there.
And he had a "job for life" with the IFA, not just as manager, but also as Head of Development.
Meanwhile, he also turned down, or didn't pursue, other decent club jobs before settling on Stoke, since he knew that the owners would give him the time needed to turn round a failing club and fulfil their potential to be a top flight club.
So that if all goes well (never guaranteed, of course), he'll take them to the PL, to qualify him for a crack at the big time. That would probably take him through until he's nearly 60 (he was 52 in July).
At that stage, he might decide to revert to international management, but if I had to guess, I'd say he's more likely to pursue the "upstairs job" he's talked about, and studied for, in the past.
But who knows, eh? :cool: