Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson travels to Waterford to hold talks with John O’Shea about becoming his assistant

Centurion former defender O’Shea took interim charge of the Boys in Green for the March and June windows, while the FAI’s long search for Stephen Kenny’s successor continued.

The former Manchester United man made no secret of his desire to become full-time number one while in the caretaker role, as he led Ireland to a win over Hungary, a draw against Belgium and a pair of defeats to Switzerland and Portugal.

But the FAI moved to appoint Iceland native Hallgrimsson last Wednesday, with the 57-year-old signing a deal until the end of the 2026 World Cup campaign.

At his unveiling at Lansdowne Road last week, Hallgrimsson revealed he had spoken to O’Shea by phone, adding he would “really love to have him as a part of this journey,” and today revealed that he is travelling down to O’Shea’s native county to discuss him potentially becoming his number two.

“I have a meeting with him in Waterford, I’m going to drive down and sit with him,” Hallgrimsson said as he made an appearance at a children’s football camp at Blanchardstown’s Verona FC.

“No, not many,” he replied when asked if he had spoken to any other backroom staff members from the interim ticket.

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“I’m going to start with him [O’Shea]. Obviously, the most important guy for me is the assistant. I’m going to start with him and take it from there.

“I think it’s better for me to talk about it after we speak, but if he wants to meet, then probably he’s considering it. I think it’s more positive than negative.”

O’Shea made it clear in June that he felt ready to take the hot seat before Hallgrimsson’s shock arrival. Asked whether coming on board as his assistant now will prove a route for O’Shea to step up to the top job in the future, the Icelandic native said that path was the same one he followed, having served as Iceland assistant before becoming co-manager in 2014, then sole manager two years later.

“My way into national team coaching was exactly like that. I think the assistant coach should be the one who carries the knowledge to the next cycle. They [FAI] have obviously shown they believe he is going to be or is good enough to be the coach. So I think it’s a no-brainer, whatever happens after me,” said Hallgrimmson.

“I always say the same thing, I want to leave the shirt in a better place when I go. To have a guy who has been doing the things with us is probably always the best one to take over if you want continuity, growth and development.

“That kind of makes sense to me but it’s always difficult to have been the head coach and then stepping down to be assistant coach. That takes a good character to do that.”

It has been a whirlwind couple of days for the former Jamaican boss since arriving in Dublin on Wednesday, having also taken in games at Tolka Park and Dalymount Park after his unveiling at the Aviva.

“We’re just trying to look at the country, where we want to live, looking at sites,” he added, having confirmed he will live in Ireland during his time as national boss.

“That’s more or less what we have been doing for the last two days and then looking at the tournament [Euro 2024], I saw the game yesterday. Then, just trying to familiarise [myself] with people in the [FAI] office. We’re trying to gather our heads around where we are, who we should talk to, who can help us, etc.”