Ireland name under-17 and under-19 coach: Former Monaghan United manager Seán McCaffrey was yesterday appointed by the FAI to succeed Brian Kerr as coach of the Irish under-17 and under-19 teams after looking after the two sides on a caretaker basis since his predecessor landed the senior job back in January.
Though the job was publicly advertised and around 30 people applied for the post, the association has chosen to reward McCaffrey for the job he has done over the past 10 months, during which time he brought last season's under-19 side within a whisker of the European Championship finals and this season's crop to the second group stage of the qualifying tournament.
"We were delighted with the calibre of the candidates that put themselves forward for this job," said FAI chief executive Fran Rooney yesterday. "But after an extensive interview process we were happy that Seán was the best man for the job and we're looking forward to great things over the next three years and beyond."
McCaffrey insisted the appointment represents the fulfilment of his ambitions within the game, the 44 year-old saying: "It's not a stepping stone for me, it's the pinnacle. I hope to still be here in 23 years."
Over the remainder of this season, McCaffrey's priority will be to guide the under-19s to next summer's European finals from a second-round group that also includes Belgium, Serbia-Montenegro and Norway. Both the Irish and Belgians have expressed an interest in hosting the mini-tournament, due to be played in May, that will decide which of the four nations progresses.
In the longer term, he said, "the priority is to produce footballers for Don (Givens) and Brian (Kerr) because we have to be getting to the stage where we are producing better players if we are going to be successful on the senior international stage."
Meanwhile, McCaffrey has named a squad of 18 players for a friendly under-19 international against France on Wednesday, December 3rd. The game will take place in the Stade Jacques Fould in Alencon (kick-off 2 p.m. Irish time).
McCaffrey has included just one National League player in his squad, Stephen O'Mahony from Limerick City.
IRELAND SQUAD: Paul Murphy (Leicester City), Colin Doyle (Birmingham City), Christopher Deans (Derby County), Stephen O'Mahony (Limerick City), Patrick Flynn (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Paul McShane (Manchester United), Henry McStay (Leeds United), Gary Liddle (Middlesboro), Alan O'Brien (Newcastle United), Richie Ryan (Sunderland), Steven O'Leary (Luton Town), Patrick Cregg (Arsenal), Paul Murphy (Manchester City), Mark Yeates (Tottenham Hotspur), Aidan McGeady (Celtic), Mark Quigley (Millwall), Gary Mulligan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Karl Bermingham.
Manager: Seán McCaffrey. Assistant Manager: Tony McGurk.
