Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not be at the wheel as the Republic of Ireland continue their search for a new permanent manager.
This afternoon saw the former Manchester United manager’s odds on being the permanent successor to Stephen Kenny slashed from 80/1 to 3/10, which led many to think he could be unveiled by the FAI next week.
Solskjaer has been out of work in football since he was sacked by United in November 2021.
The rumours made Irish Reds excited at the prospect of a club legend becoming their national team manager, but sadly it was all too good to be true.
But taking to X on Friday evening, Andy Mitten – editor of United We Stand and writer for The Athletic – confirmed that he had spoken to Solskjaer who decided the that opportunity wasn’t right for him, despite holding talks with the FAI in January.
Mitten wrote: “Keep getting asked about the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Republic of Ireland job story. Spoke to him. Spoke to him. He has no idea where it came from.
“He has complete respect for the country and did speak briefly about the job in Jan, but decided it wouldn’t be right for him. Have a good weekend.”
Kenny was sacked as Ireland manager in November of last year and his departure led to many names being tipped for the job. England U21 manager Lee Carsley was long held as the favourite before John O’Shea was named manager on an interim basis for two friendly matches in March.
It was also suggested that Roy Keane had met with the FAI on three occasions regarding the Ireland job, but nothing further has emerged on that front and he seems happy as a pundit.
We would like to see O’Shea land the Ireland job.
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