Next Republic of Ireland Manager Odds & Betting Favourites

We have the next Republic of Ireland manager odds and betting favourites for you as the FAI look for a successor to Stephen Kenny.

Next Ireland Manager Odds

Next Republic of Ireland Manager Betting Favourites

John O'Shea

The man who was announced as the Republic of Ireland Interim manager initially for the March friendlies and now the June window is now priced at 2/1 joint favourite suggesting a 33.3% chance he lands the permanent position.

O'Shea had a distinguished club career which saw him play 680+ Senior Games the majority of those coming with Man United for whom he'd play his part in 14 club trophies from 1999-2011 with the Red Devils. O'Shea represented Ireland a staggering 118 times scoring 3 goals from 2001-2018.

Since hanging up his boots in 2019, he has built up a fairly extensive coaching career with spells at Reading, Ireland U21s + Senior, Stoke City as well most recently at Birmingham.

The March friendlies came with a lot of conjecture an initial 0-0 draw with a rotated Belgium showed some degree of promise, although that was followed by a poorer showing against the Swiss whereby they lose 0-1. Following the camp there was echoes of ill feeling around the squad with regards to training/preparation. O'Shea managed Ireland to his first win as interim manager on Tuesday Night with a 2-1 victory against Hungary and while the win was welcome the performance left a lot to be desired.

O'Shea remains very much in contention for the role especially if they can get results against Hungary and Portugal in the coming games.

Willy Sagnol

The other joint favourite for the vacant Republic of Ireland role is Willy Sagnol also at odds of 2/1 suggesting he has a 33.3% chance of being named the Republic of Ireland manager.

Willy had a club career of 390+ games between 1995-2008. At the international level, he was capped 58 times by France.

The origin of the links to Ireland aren't quite clear, but following chatter on the YBIG Fan's Forum it appeared that he had moved from around 80/1 initially to around 14/1 with several bookmakers before being promptly posted by the Irish Sun Sport.

However, it quickly emerged that there had been no contact made from the FAI with Sagnol over the vacant manager position. Sagnol has reportedly said though that he would not be in the role beyond Euro 2026 and after being knocked out by Greece, could the door be open for a switch to Ireland?

Sagnol despite being relatively young (47) has accrued a number of years coaching France's underage sides, Bordeaux and a period in the Bayern backroom team. With Georgia, he has brought them a win rate of 46.88% from 32 games with 15 wins, 5 draws and 15 losses favouring a 3-4-3/3-5-2 which may suit Ireland.

There's plenty of cheap "talk" coming from all areas but it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that he is the Ireland manager, all may depend on how Georgia perform at Euro 2024.

Chris Hughton

Third Favourite for the Ireland role is Chris Hughton at odds of 13/2 suggesting a 13.3% chance he lands the role.

Chris Hughton represented Ireland 51 times between 1979-1991 after qualifying to play for the country through his Irish mother. Since hanging up his boots in 1993 he has forged a relatively successful coaching career with the likes of Newcastle, Norwich and Brighton coming runner-up with the latter of the three in the Championship in 2016-17 earning promotion to the Premier League. He was even Ireland Assistant Manager between 2003-2005.

Most recently, after a period as Technical Advisor with Ghana (his father's nation) on 12 February 2023, Hughton was Head Coach with Ghana. With Ghana having failed to qualify from the group stages of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Hughton was sacked on 23 January 2024.

However, in Hughton's defence there was a lot outside noise which affected his performance in the role (arguably not dissimilar to Ireland mind you). He remains in the frame for the role, not the best candidate but not the worst by the same logic.

Lee Carsley

We're still here with the Carsley dream! Long-time favourite for the role can now be gotten at 9/1 suggesting a 10% chance he finally gets the job!

Carsley had been the heavy favourite to replace Stephen Kenny in September with plenty speculating that the deal was done/nearing completion. However, it has since transpired in a Daily Mail piece on Wednesday that he ruled himself out of the Ireland job, reaffirming his commitment to the England U21s but confirming talks did take place with the FAI that commenced last November.

The former Ireland international made 40 appearances for his country and since retiring in 2011 he has made a name for himself as a coach. Carsley has gained experience at clubs such as Coventry, Brentford, Man City and Birmingham.

Currently, he is the England U21 coach, a team which he guided to UEFA Euro 2023 U21 success in July. That was England's first title in the competition since 1984.

His impressive track record has drawn the attention of the Football Association of Ireland but a deal looks dead now. Although interestingly while people speculated finances were the issue, best friend Kevin Kilbane had a reason "beyond finances" and that something more "enticing" could be on the cards for him in the future. While it looks unlikely Carsley comes in now, nothing would shock me at this stage in terms of bargaining positions, it's done but not out until the new man is announced in my book.

Steve Bruce

Fifth Favourite for the Ireland role is Steve Bruce at odds of 10/1 suggesting a 9.1% chance he lands the role.

Bruce had a distinguished club career which saw him play 929+ Senior Games the majority of those coming with Man United for whom he won a number of trophies. However, Bruce was never capped at International Level for England despite advances from Ireland who he qualified for Sir Alex Ferguson rebutted the suggestion due to registration issues at the time.

Since hanging up his boots in 1999, he has built up a 23 year coaching career with the likes of Wigan, Sunderland, Hull and most recently at West Brom in 2022. Steve's son Alex even represented both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland at Senior Level.

I've no doubt he would take the role, but unlike Hughton his credentials and overall connection to Ireland is far looser so I can't see this one happening anytime soon.

Other Contenders For The Ireland Job?

Former USA Assistant and U20 Coach Anthony Hudson has previously held talks about the vacant role and is currently priced at 12/1.

David Moyes is another interesting name at the top of the betting following the end of his tenure at West Ham is seen as a 20/1 chance.

Elsewhere Paul Clement is 20/1 who came through the FAI coaching pathway and has worked as an assistant with Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and most recently Everton.

Highly rated coach Liam Rosenior is seen as a 33/1 shout following his controversial sacking at Hull City.

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