"I made it on to a three-man shortlist for the Ireland job and was interviewed for it in Paris. In the end they decided to give it to an Irishman, Brian Kerr. But I would have adored it if I’d got it. I love Ireland and the Irish".
That was former France manager Raymond today in an interview with The Guardian as he revealed that he had been in the running to succeed Mick McCarthy as Ireland boss in 2002.
He was not the only Frenchman to be linked with an Ireland vacancy either.
Philippe Troussier is a name that will ring a few bells for Irish football fans from just over a decade ago.
Back in 2005 after Brian Kerr - hastily many feel in hindsight - was sacked as Ireland manager, Troussier who had previously managed internationally with Japan among others was seen as a frontrunner for the position.
Instead Steve Staunton was appointed.
Indeed, he had also been strongly linked when Kerr's predecessor McCarthy had parted ways with the FAI.
Not only strongly linked but approached by our Football Association as he confirmed to the BBC in 2002, saying: "I have been approached by five or six national teams and Ireland is one of them."
And you may remember that back in November 2007, pundit Eamon Dunphy railed against the possible appointment of ex-England boss Terry Venables on live TV.
This was before Giovanni Trapattoni got the job and Dunphy's take-down of Venables had a strong effect as the ex-Tottenham boss later attested.
Hitting out at Dunphy, Venables later told The Sunday Independent that the FAI had a "change of heart" after the RTE pundit's on-air comments about him.
He also shared his feeling that the three-man panel tasked with identifying the next manager was "decoration".
Question marks and criticisms over how Ireland managers are appointed are not new either as John Giles' revealed on Off The Ball recently.
Detailing the events leading up to Jack Charlton's accession to the job in 1986, the Leeds legend said the process had been "disrespectful" to both him and Liam Tuohy - both of whom had previously managed the Boys in Green before then.
Terry Venables ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
That wasn't all as John also revealed that Liverpool managerial legend Bob Paisley had been promised the job.
"Bob Paisley was promised it (the job) and myself and Liam Tuhoy were effectively used to bring both Paisley and Charlton back into contention out of nowhere," he said of the shenanigans which took place.
Mick McCarthy's time managing Millwall and the fallout from his move to take the Ireland job in 1996 was something we looked back at on Team 33 earlier this season, and in looking back at the events of the time, it is easy to forget that the current Ipswich manager was vying with former Manchester United and Ireland defender Kevin Moran to succeed Charlton.
McCarthy of course got the job and took us to a World Cup as Charlton had done twice previously.
But who knows whether we would have qualified for more tournaments or none at all if circumstances had been different and other people appointed as managers.
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