Keith Andrews says that recent weeks in his football coaching career have felt like a "whirlwind". Earlier this month, the 39-year-old was named as one of Stephen Kenny's assistant coaches just a day after Kenny was bumped up to Ireland senior manager four months earlier than expected.
"With everything that's going on in the world, it feels slightly surreal," Andrews told FAI TV.
"To be named as an assistant to Stephen is a very proud moment in my career."
Andrews had been assistant to Kenny at under-21 level. Damien Duff and Alan Kelly will also work under Kenny.
"It just feels bizarre, doesn't it?" Andrews said regarding the Covid-19 emergency.
There's a huge side of you that is looking at what's going on in the world, in the country and on your doorstep, practically. You're glued to the news, day in and day out, and not really feeling you can do much about it other than stay at home and try and look after your loved ones.
It's been a difficult few weeks for all of us, some more than others, and the admiration I've got for those frontline workers, and people working in shops, and bus drivers, is huge.
There's that side of it but obviously, at times, you have to look at what you've achieved in getting this role and let it sink in.
People are going through a lot of pain and anguish at the moment and that's probably going to go on for a period of time of course but I suppose one release for people and one element of enjoyment [has previously been football]. It's always been the case, hasn't it?
You go back to '88 and '90 - there were some tough times in the '80s - and hopefully, we can bring some good times and give people something to look forward to.
With it likely to be many months before collective training can again take place, Andrews has been creating coaching videos for the FAI as part of their 'homeskills' programme.
"I've had plenty of texts and phone calls from friends, saying, 'They're not interested at the moment'," Andrews said regarding the many young footballers around the country.
"They were due to play competitions or some of them were going away on trips, Easter is always a popular time to bring schoolboys and schoolgirls away on trips to play in different countries.
"We know it's been difficult for them, so if we can give them just a little bit of focus and enjoyment...We've seen some brilliant videos coming in with tins of paint and bits of turf, it's been brilliant to see."
FAI Homeskills Ambassador Keith Andrews was speaking to FAI TV, as the first week of coaching videos continues on the new FAI Grassroots channels.
You can tune in to Keith Andrews and Pearl Slattery every weekday morning at 11am via the FAI's social media channels.
Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
