Roy Keane now a leading contender to take over as Ireland manager

ROY Keane is being strongly linked with the Ireland manager's job, though Stephen Kenny's successor won't be revealed until April.

The former Man United and Ireland midfield powerhouse previously served as assistant to Martin O'Neill, with the highlight being reaching the Euro 2016 knockout stages. His greatest success came at the helm of Sunderland, who he guided to Premier League promotion, while he also served as Ipswich boss for 18 months.

Since then, he has never held the top job but was assistant at Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, where he first made his breakthrough in England after moving from Cobh Ramblers.

The Irish Examiner has reported that Keane has met three times with the FAI's headhunting team and while John O'Shea spoke about his desire to get an opportunity after filling in as interim boss for the recent friendlies with Belgium and Switzerland, he is not believed to be in the running.

HIGH PROFILE

O'Shea could of course come on board as second in command to Keane, whose profile is as high as ever thanks to his work as an outspoken pundit.

On a Sky Sports pundit earlier this year, Keane explained the appeal of international management.

"Yeah, international football – I enjoyed it when I was a coach for a while I like the dynamics of it, where you’re not in every day, and it’s not about bringing players in and I suppose dealing with the board every week or the academy.

“Yeah, that does appeal. I did like the dynamics when I was coaching with Martin with the Irish team. 

We had a little bit of success, and when you’ve had a little bit of success, then it’s brilliant, and obviously there are disappointments. So, yeah, that could be an option.”

Lee Carsley was the favourite for the Ireland gig but is instead staying as England U21 coach.

Ireland's next games are friendlies against Hungary and Portugal in June.