Shay Given believes that his former Ireland teammate Lee Carsley "ticks a lot of boxes" when it comes to the FAI appointing a successor to Stephen Kenny.
Carsley, who won 40 caps for Ireland, coached the England U21s to victory at the summer's European Championships. Joleon Lescott, Given's former Manchester City teammate, was part of Carsley's coaching staff.
24 March 2007; Republic of Ireland players, from left, captain Robbie Keane, Shay Given, Lee Carsley, and Damien Duff, stand with mascots for the National Anthem. 2008 European Championship Qualifier, Republic of Ireland v Wales, Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit: Brian Lawless / SPORTSFILE
"I said to [Joleon], 'What does he bring to the party?' because I know him as a friend more than a coach or a manager," Given said during RTÉ's Champions League coverage on Tuesday.
"He said he's unbelievable with the lads and the attention to detail is second to none. [He said] the lads just want to play for him, they want to run through brick walls for him; his man management, he's not seen [that level] before.
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"He brings all that to the party as well. If you listen to people like that who have worked closely with him, and have seen what he's done, and he's been successful as well, he ticks a lot of boxes."
Following the FAI's AGM on Saturday, chief executive Jonathan Hill told the media that the association is looking to appoint a "head coach who is motivated to look at all of our underage teams as well, and work to create an approach everyone buys into".
18 June 2020; England head coach Aidy Boothroyd and assistant coach Lee Carsley, right, prior to the 2019 UEFA U21 Championships group C match between England and France at Dino Manuzzi in Cesena, Italy. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/UEFA via Sportsfile
"It struck me as someone who's been through a system before," said Given.
"The obvious person would be Lee Carsley who's been through the system with the English FA. He's the head coach of the U21s, had a brilliant tournament in the summer, they won the [European Championships].
"I know Lee well from playing with Ireland. He has that strong connection to the country. If that's the sort of wording that's coming out of the FAI, that strikes me as he would be the perfect fit.
"It sounds like, from what you've said that maybe they've had conversations with Lee. Well, I'm sure they've had conversations with a few people.
"When you say 'head coach' and 'working with underage teams', if you put all that into a pot, Lee Carsley would be the obvious candidate, in my opinion."
‘He ticks a lot of boxes’ - Shay Given believes Lee Carsley could be a good fit for the FAI in replacing Stephen Kenny as Republic of Ireland manager pic.twitter.com/BnzU8r1ydj
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 12, 2023
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