Stephen Kenny faced plenty of adversity over his first 12 months in the Ireland job. Not only did he have to deal with covid issues and a changing team, but he also lost a number of members of his backroom team.
Damien Duff was the first to walk, surprisingly resigning from his role as coach at the start of 2021. He was replaced by Anthony Barry, who by all accounts made a huge impression on the Ireland squad.
The Englishman is one of the most highly rated young coaches around at the moment, moving from Wigan Athletic to Chelsea where has had excelled under both Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel.
His appointment was seen as a major coup for Ireland at the time, meaning it was always going to be difficult to keep hold of him in the long term. It was a huge disappointment when he opted to leave Kenny's setup to join Roberto Martinez's staff with Belgium.
He was then replaced by John Eustace, who lasted only a few months in the role before taking the Birmingham City job.
Anthony Barry set to turn down Championship job
Anthony Barry has been linked with a Championship role himself in recent days, with the 36-year old rumoured to be Huddersfield Town's first choice for their vacant managerial position.
However, it seems as though he isn't interested.
The Sun are reporting that Barry has rebuffed their advances as he wants to coach with Belgium in the World Cup, with the tournament in Qatar set to get underway in November. Huddersfield are unlikely to wait until the new year for him and are now set to look at other options.
Of course, you cannot blame a coach for taking the perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity to coach at a World Cup, but some Ireland fans may be wondering why Barry did not show a similar to commitment to Ireland when Belgium originally came calling.
It is now believed that Huddersfield will move for former boss David Wagner, with the 50-year old having led them to an unlikely promotion to the Premier League during his first spell in charge.
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