Keane feels the ‘ship has sailed’ for his ‘dream’ Ireland job
Roy Keane has confirmed he spoke to the FAI about the vacant senior men’s managerial post earlier this year and admitted it would be his “dream job”.
Despite the 67-cap former midfielder making that ambition clear, Keane feels that ship has sailed at this stage.
The former Manchester United star revealed last January that becoming Stephen Kenny’s successor “could be an option”, having previously been assistant to Martin O’Neill between 2013 and 2018.
Now, Keane has confirmed he had spoken with Abbots town officials about the vacant post in recent months but stressed that, in his view, the opportunity is no longer a possibility, with the FAI’s search standing at 215 days.
“If I could manage any team now, it might grab a silly headline, but I enjoyed the international set-up when I was working with Martin as a coach,” Keane told theStick to Footballpodcast.
“I liked the dynamics and the flow of international football. It wasn’ t 24 hours a day, but still working at a high level.
“If you are on about dream jobs, maybe the Irish job, but obviously, I think that ship has sailed.”
“Yes ,” replied Keane when asked if he had spoken to the FAI this year about the vacant managerial post.
“But I spoke to lots of teams. Just because you speak to people doesn’t mean . . . the hardest part is getting the deal done.”
“Lots of people and clubs I have spoken to over the years are just wasting your time. It’s a bit of PR, they are ticking a few boxes, [and] they want to link you with the job.
“You meet people and as soon as you sit down, they start talking about numbers and you’ re like ,‘ Really? Come on’. I don’t mean with Ireland, I’m on about club jobs.
“If you’re going to sit down with people and have a conversation, clubs need to be serious, but a lot of people aren’t and are just time-wasters.”
Since Kenny’s departure last November, the Boys in Green remain without a permanent boss after the FAI missed deadlines in February and April to have a successor in place. Former international John O’Shea took interim charge for the March and June windows.