While we are currently in the midst of the March international window, much of the conversation surrounding the national team has been focused on who will be the next Republic of Ireland permanent manager.
The FAI have yet to announce who will be the permanent replacement for Stephen Kenny, who left the role back in November. John O'Shea was placed in charge for the games against Belgium and Switzerland on an interim basis, although it is thought he is not in the running to be appointed on a full-time basis despite a positive performance on Saturday night.
While it seems that O'Shea will not be the next Ireland manager, there has been little indication as to who it will actually be.
The biggest hint on the identity of the next head coach came from Marc Canham earlier this month when he said that an appointment was close, but could not be confirmed until early April due to existing 'contractual obligations'.
This suggested that the next manager is currently involved with another team during the March international window, with Lee Carsley the name that was widely suggested. However, the England U21 boss has since ruled himself out of the running.
That was certainly a spanner in the works, although Ireland fans will get a good look at the current favourites for the position tomorrow evening.
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Ireland fans should keep a close eye on Euro 2024 play-off
A Euro 2024 play-off between Georgia and Greece is not a fixture that would normally generate much interest in this part of the world, but the identity of the managers of those two teams will add an extra layer of intrigue to the game.
Willy Sagnol and Gus Poyet, who coach Georgia and Greece respectively, are currently the two booksmakers' favourites to become the next Ireland manager.
🇬🇪 GEORGIA vs GREECE 🇬🇷
Play-off final confirmed for a chance to qualify for EURO 2024! 🎟️✈️ pic.twitter.com/wGBTnv77vE— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) March 21, 2024
There is a certain amount of guesswork associated with that status.
Both Sagnol and Poyet are set to leave their current roles after the play-offs, regardless of whether their teams quality for Euro 2024 or not. Their contracts are due to expire and there has been little movement on new deals.
Poyet has also expressed his interest in the Ireland job on a couple of occasions, most recently when speaking to Balls back in January.
The FAI have said that the next Ireland manager should have previous international coaching experience, a criteria both of these candidates would fill. They have also both impressed in their current roles.
Having taken over 2021, Willy Sagnol helped Georgia to promotion from League C of the UEFA Nations League and has them on the brink of a first ever appearances at the Euros.
He is a product of the French national team coaching system, spending time in charge of the France U20 and U21 teams after retiring from playing. Sagnol also managed Bordeaux and had a spell as an assistant with Bayern Munich before ending up in Georgia.
Gus Poyet led Greece to promotion from League C and a pair convincing victories over Ireland during the Euro qualifying campaign. His has had somewhat of a journeyman managerial career up to this point, managing clubs in England, Spain, China, and Uruguay. It his dismantling of Ireland in those two games in 2023 that could well pique the interest of the FAI.
It remains to be seen how real the links to either coach are. They would fit the timeline previously laid out by the FAI, but as we have seen in the process to appoint the next Ireland manager up to this point, such suggestions are to be taken with a fairly large pinch of salt.
The fixture in Tbilisi will kick off at 5pm Irish time on Virgin Media More, so you may want to tune in to get a look at a possible future Ireland manager in action.
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