The FAI may know whether the Republic of Ireland have qualified for next year's European Championships by June 10th and interim deputy chief executive Niall Quinn insists that would be the correct time to start worrying whether Mick McCarthy or Stephen Kenny would manage the team at the finals.
“I don’t think there is any point in trying to do something about that now,” he said in an interview with the association’s own in-house media released through its YouTube channel.
“We’re still in the position where we don’t know if we’re going to the Euros or not. We’ll know on June 10th and I would have thought that June 10th would be a good time to start worrying or overly worrying about that particular incidence.”
As things stand, McCarthy is due to leave the job at the end of July whether Ireland’s involvement in the tournament has been ended or not, and Kenny is bound to be unenthusiastic about an arrangement that either significantly extends his predecessor’s time in the role or allows for a limited return in the summer of next year.
Clearly, though, the original intention, when John Delaney dreamt the entire arrangement up, was that McCarthy would get the opportunity to oversee the entirety of Ireland's campaign and there may be some sympathy within the organisation for him on that basis.
Defeat in either of the playoffs would, however, make the entire question of who should be in charge academic and the most immediate issue is whether the games will actually go ahead in just over 11 weeks given the seriousness of a coronavirus crisis that still appears to be in its earliest stages.
Quinn is hopeful for the moment.
“We know that is a realistic target to aim for. Will it happen? Will the medical world allow it? Will the HSE and Government allow fans and players to travel? We don’t want to put anyone in danger, that’s the first thing. But if there is a lift and a possibility of those games going ahead, it augurs well that we have definite dates and times and that we’ll know our fate by June 10th.”
In relation to the Airtricity League, Quinn said that he has sympathy for the players affected by some clubs saying they are not in a position to pay wages. But he insists that the search for solutions against the backdrop of what is a far wider ranging crisis is still at a very early stage and that things may be even a little clearer after a meeting with clubs this week.
“There is a big meeting on Thursday with the League of Ireland clubs and our steering group will continue to work,” added Quinn. “If there is something in Europe that we can go to, we will. And if there is something in Government then we will look at that too for the players, but every industry is in the same boat.
“It’s really hard to imagine there is something extra for us there so we have to really dig deep now and see how we can best shelter our players and clubs who have lost huge revenues.
“It’s a real worry but I think all we can do is get the stakeholders around the table, make it the priority that it is and try and deliver something that can bring some form of comfort in a terrible time.
“The aspiration is to get going again in April, that would be great, and there would be a limit to the damage done, that would be something but it is [just] an aspiration. Football isn’t alone but we’ll work through this as well as we can.”
