As we advance towards the latter stages of April, it seems that FAI director of football Marc Canham was misguided when he suggested that the new Ireland manager would be announced during the early portion of this month.
The process to search for Stephen Kenny's replacement could generously be described as a haphazard one. A number of coaches have been linked with the vacancy, with it being reported that the likes of Lee Carsley, Gus Poyet, and Anthony Barry have all turned it down.
Now around a week on from the previously revealed deadline for a new appointment, we are still no closer to knowing who will take up the role.
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James McClean questions FAI over Ireland manager search
Regardless of who is appointed as the next Ireland manager, there is no doubt that the FAI's reputation has taken a hit during this process. CEO Jonathan Hill is set to leave his post at the end of the month, while Canham will also be brought under question after heading up the process to find the new coach.
Speaking to Dublin Live, James McClean said the search for the new coach had been a 'shambles'. He also backed John O'Shea to take the role on a permanent basis after his interim spell in charge of the side last month.
The way the FAI has gone about it has been a bit of a shambles really. It seems that they’re just trying whoever’s available. Throwing out all sorts of names and no one seems to want the job.
John’s a great football man, (he has) a lot of knowledge in the game. So I don’t see what they could lose in giving it to John to be honest.
He’s quite a likeable man, he’s good with the lads. He knows the game inside out, has been there and done it at the highest level.
I think they could do a lot worse than give it to John. John gets my vote, hands down, I think he already knows that.
As someone who was involved in the Ireland camp for over a decade, it's clear that McClean has not been impressed with the way this manager search has been handled.
He certainly has a point.
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