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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."
Maybe a Venables/Staunton collaboration?
There is no such thing as a miracle cure, a free lunch or a humble opinion.
That has been tipped as a potential paring in other forums.Originally Posted by Fergie's Son
I don't see what people's probelm is with Venables. It seems to me that he is universally well regarded as a good coach and manager. His problems have always been with the money/business side of the game. As an international manager this isn't a factor. I have seen some people question whether he would develop young players. I don't see any evidence that he wouldn't especially if he has the right team around him. It's not like there are a host of other experienced managers queing up for the job.
"I'd rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd" Johnny Giles
Jaysus Richie, where are your standards? Israel home and away lets us down. Not winning at home to Switzerland let us down. The performance in Cyprus let us down.
The expectation of the fans is that we should beat Israel when you're 2 up & when you're 1 up in injury time.
With regard to Venables, he's an inferior candidate to O'Neill in my view, and certainly Hiddink. There's no reason why Hiddink can't be approached now with a view to a July start.
If what Dunne says about the Leeds lads' view of Venables is true well then that's some comfort. In my opinion, England were poorer under Venables than people generally remember (I gave a critique of each Euro 96 match, and the pre-tournament friendlies in another thread). It's not fair to say TV "masterminded" England's Euro 96 semi-final run. If we had automatic qualification and 4 games at Lansdowne I think we'd do OK in a major finals. But I think he'd have more gravitas in the dressing room than Kerr had in the end though & that's crucial.
I just dislike the guy! He makes me cringe as a pundit and he's as wide as a bus, in the dodgy cockey sense of the word.
I agree MON and Hiddink would be preferable candidates. Until Hiddink commits himself to Australia one way or the other then I think the FAI should try to get him. Surely if he was going to remain involved in PSV then a European based job would be better for him.
However leaving his personality aside I can't understand why people think Venables would be such a disaster.
"I'd rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd" Johnny Giles
Come back Venables all is forgiven. Just been looking on eleven-a-side...Ossie Ardiles!?! Where the hell did that come from? It would interesting, but a complete disaster. Are they smoking things in Merrion Sq?
"...and it's Charlie Chaplin on the wing..."
What Dunne says about Venables makes perfect sense. We need someone who is going to get the best out of this group of players. Ending up with another "peoples choice" would be a disaster. It has to be a manager that the players respect. That the FAI can afford. And has a history in the game at the highest levels.
"It ended up a battle between ourselves and the Swiss" he says. Is he forgetting the Israelis and the fact that they finished above us????
Technically he's correct. Israel's failure to beat the faroes by 7 effectively put them out so it ended up being between us & Swiss because France was always going to beat Cyprus. I suspect he did overlook Israel though.
He's right. It went down to the last game didn't it? If we'd beaten the Swiss we would have got 2nd place. Israel needed an improbably set of results in the final two games for them to get 2nd place."It ended up a battle between ourselves and the Swiss" he says. Is he forgetting the Israelis and the fact that they finished above us????
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