The FAI will wait until June until making a decision on the Mick McCarthy-Stephen Kenny managerial situation, according to Interim Deputy CEO Niall Quinn.
Stephen Kenny had originally meant to replace McCarthy as manager of the Republic of Ireland in July after Euro 2020 but that has now been complicated by the postponement of the tournament until 2021.
Ireland were originally meant to play Slovakia in a playoff qualifier on March 26th, but that has been rescheduled, for now, until June.
Speaking to FAI TV today, Quinn said they would not be making a decision on the managerial position until around the same time.
“I don’t think there’s any point in trying to do anything about that now. We’re still in a position where we don’t know if we’re going to the Euros or not. We’ll know on 10 June.
“I would have thought 10 June would be a good time to start worrying about that particular instance.
"We’ll do that at the right time and we’ll speak to the stakeholders first. We won’t be talking publicly about that until the right time,” Quinn said.
The Interim Deputy CEO, however, was pleased with UEFA's decision to postpone the tournament until next summer.
“I’m very pleased they’ve taken the decision to move the Euros out a year.
"I think it just gives everyone a bit of breathing space at a really difficult time, an unprecedented time and one where the health of our players, of our fans and everyone in the football family of Europe is at stake," Quinn commented.
Meeting set with League of Ireland clubs
The postponement of fixtures has led to great financial worries for League of Ireland clubs and Quinn assured them that FAI would consult the clubs on Thursday about the current predicament.
“Some of them have already announced that they won’t be able to pay players. That’s falling in line with the national emergency that’s occurred with thousands of people being laid off.
“It’s a tough time, we get that, and we’re trying really hard to come up with some solutions with the clubs and the PFAI and the players themselves that will give us some sense of satisfaction in this extraordinary time and that players can be helped in some shape or form.
“There’s a big meeting on Thursday with the League of Ireland clubs and our steering group will continue to work and assess if there is something in Europe that we can go to, we’ll go.
"If there is something in government, we would look at that too. But every industry is in the same boat. We have to dig deep to shelter our players and clubs, who will lose huge revenues.
"It’s a huge worry, but all we can do is get the stakeholders around the table, make it the priority that it is and try to deliver something that brings about some form of comfort in a terrible time," Quinn said.
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