SHAY GIVEN HAS said he does not believe his former Ireland teammate Lee Carsley will be the next manager of the international team. 

Carsley, the England U21 manager, remains favourite to be appointed but Given said he understands that the former Everton player might be interested in the job in years to come – but not now.  

“It’s my understanding that it is not going to be Lee Carsley,” Given said on RTE’s Champions League show last night. “Maybe not now, but maybe in the future Lee might be interested.

“I don’t think it is going to be Lee personally.

"My understanding is it's not going to be Lee Carsley"

Shay Given believes his former team-mate won't be taking the current Republic of Ireland vacancy #COYBIG #RTESoccer pic.twitter.com/ZZFryYyavz

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2024

“So where does that leave us? Where does that leave everyone, including the FAI?

“You have the likes of Neil Lennon, Roy Keane, Chris Coleman got a mention recently, Chris Hughton.

“Chris Coleman had a good time at Wales, of course.”

Given said the new manager should already be appointed, with Ireland taking facing Belgium and Switzerland in Dublin next month.

“It’s just a few weeks to the next international, so the manager should be in place now, because he needs to look at the players, he needs to pick his squad, who’s in, who’s out.

“So it’s not ideal.”

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