As Stephen Kenny prepares for what is likely to be his final game in charge of Ireland tomorrow night, discussion has already turned towards who could replace him as manager in the weeks and months ahead.
Whereas the appointments of Mick McCarthy and subsequently Kenny back in 2018 were fairly obvious ones, there is no such candidate available this time around.
A number of names have been linked with the position in recent times, all of which would come carrying certain doubts related to their suitability for the role.
With that in mind, we have looked at each of the favourites to be the next Ireland manager and identified the biggest pitfalls relating to their possible appointment.
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The case against each favourite to be next Ireland manager
Neil Lennon - 6/4
The Problem: His track record when coaching teams without the most resources.
Neil Lennon has emerged as the bookies' favourite to become the next Ireland manager over the last couple of weeks, a development that has not exactly inspired a positive reaction from the supporters.
The former Celtic boss has the most successful CV on this list in terms of trophies won, winning five Scottish league titles, four Scottish Cups, a Scottish League Cup, the Scottish Championship, and a Cypriot Cup.
Despite this, not many are enthused by the prospect of him managing Ireland.
Lennon's track record outside of Celtic is relatively poor, even if he did have success at times at the likes of Hibernian and Omonia Nicosia. His last spell at Parkhead also allowed Rangers to end Celtic's hunt for ten league titles on the spin.
Combine that with his lack of tactical nous and tendency to fall out with those above him and you can see why he would not be an ideal fit for Ireland.
Lee Carsley - 2/1
The Problem: He has never coached a senior team.
Lee Carsley is the most enticing of the names on this list.
He has shown a real penchant for developing youth in his roles with Manchester City and England, something that was capped off with a U21 Euros triumph last summer. His status as an ex-Ireland international is also a bonus.
The one concern about Carsley is his lack of experience in coaching senior teams. Outside of caretaker spells at Coventry City and Brentford, he has never managed at first team level.
Another issue with the 49-year old is whether the FAI could tempt him into taking the job. He is currently in a very attractive role within the FA and could be in the running to succeed Gareth Southgate as England manager as soon as next summer.
Steve Bruce - 9/2
The Problem: It would be a poor short-term solution.
Steve Bruce has a decent managerial CV, experiencing various degrees of success at a number of different Premier League and Championship clubs.
He has been unfairly derided in certain quarters, although he seems like an uninspired choice to be the next Ireland manager. The decision to bring in Bruce would point towards the type of lack of long-term planning that has been a major issue for this team in the past.
It would simply be a case of taking one of the only well-known managers that was available at that time. That is not a recipe for success.
At this point, the FAI need to be more forward-thinking than that.
Roy Keane - 9/1
The Problem: His combative personality and lack of recent experience.
Roy Keane would no doubt create plenty of headlines if he were to be appointed as Ireland manager, but whether he could achieve success on the pitch remains doubtful.
The Cork man was assistant manager under Martin O'Neill for five years, with the team playing some of their worst football in recent memory towards the end of that spell.
Keane has not managed a team himself since leaving Ipswich Town in 2013. Never one known for his forward thinking approach in the first place, there is a real possibility that the game has now passed him by.
His motivation abilities would be a bonus, but that same demanding attitude has also been his downfall in the past. He would be as likely to fall out with large sections of the squad that he would be to improve them as a group.
This appointment might solve the issues the FAI have experienced in recruiting a sponsor for the team. However, that seems like the only potential positive of a Roy Keane return.
Gus Poyet - 10/1
The Problem: His recent coaching CV outside of Greece.
Gus Poyet is not someone you would have expected to see included on this list just a few months ago. However, he is the only one on it to actually publicly declare his interest in the job.
After masterminding a second successive victory for Greece over Ireland back in September, he admitted they were a team he would be interested in coaching. Currently in a dispute with the Greek FA, he could be available over the coming weeks.
Poyet has done a good job with Greece and clearly out-coached Stephen Kenny on both occasions they faced off in the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
However, his recent CV outside of that role is mixed at best.
Since leaving Sunderland in 2015, he has had spells at AEK Athens, Real Betis, Shanghai Shenhua, Bordeaux, and Universidad Católica. None of them lasted longer than a year, with many of them spanning just a few months.
That is not a record that would fill you with hope that he is the long-term answer for Ireland. His lack of insight into Irish football will also count against him, even if an outside manager could be the most clever route for the FAI to go down as things stand.
Sam Allardyce - 11/1
The Problem: He's Sam Allardyce.
Enough said.
Summary
Lee Carsley is clearly the best choice out of the names mentioned above, but the options to succeed Stephen Kenny quickly become rather grim if he is unavailable.
This is a huge decision for the FAI, one they need to get right. Unfortunately, it seems there is no obvious candidate that could act as a silver bullet for all of the team's current issues.
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