Mick McCarthy is the favourite for the Republic of Ireland job on SkyBet.
The experienced boss has been in the hunt for a new job after leaving Ipswich Town in April and could make a return to manage Ireland now.
They are looking for a replacement for Martin O’Neill, who has left his position as manager today. Other early candidates are the current Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny and Hibernian’s Neil Lennon.
McCarthy is the early frontrunner though and fits the bill. He was in charge of Ipswich for just under six years and did a decent job with them on a tight budget.
The 59-year-old played for the likes of Manchester City, Barnsley, Lyon, Celtic, and Millwall in his playing days as well as racking up 57 caps for Ireland. Despite being born in Barnsley, McCarthy was eligible for Ireland through his father.
He started his managerial career at Millwall in 1992 before he was appointed manager of Ireland in 1996. He spent six years in charge of the national team and took them to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
McCarthy has since gone onto manage Sunderland, Wolves and Ipswich and has won promotion to the Premier League twice.
He has got experience of managing Ireland and this opportunity to manage them again will no doubt be appealing to him. McCarthy will be wanting to prove people wrong and the vacant position as manager of the Republic of Ireland is an ideal job for him to get back in the game.
