Neil Lennon has said the decision on the Republic of Ireland’s next manager is “imminent” and should be made within the “coming days”.
The former Celtic manager is seen as one of the leading candidates for the role, and the search has been ongoing for several months since Stephen Kenny departed in November.
“It’s imminent today, tomorrow or in the next few days,” John Lennon told Premier Sports.
“I don’t know what the decision will be, but I’m sure it will come out soon. I don’t know the decision yet.
Asked if it was important for the FAI to appoint a manager soon, Lennon said: Go out and observe the players, integrate with them and find out what you can improve on from the last campaign. Such trivial things.
“We have to choose a team for the game at the end of March, and the game is almost here.”
Ireland will play Belgium on March 23rd and Switzerland on March 26th at the Aviva Stadium.
Lee Carsley was thought to be the FAI’s most likely candidate for the role, but negotiations stalled over financial terms.
Soccer correspondent Gavin Cummiskey reported that the starting salary offered to Carsley was significantly lower than expected.
The former Everton midfielder wants to be paid close to his market value before accepting a four-year contract from the FAI. This is somewhere within the range of a mid-career manager in the EFL Championship, amounting to €700,000 including result bonuses. Stephen Kenny was paid around €560,000 a year to manage the country.
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