TRAP SPELL OVER?

Giovanni Trapattoni has been the manager of Republic of Ireland for last five years, but it seems that his spell in charge of the national team is coming to an end. Only qualification to the World Cup in 2014 is likely to keep him in the job. There are already a number of candidates being linked with the role. The likes of Martin O’Neill, Brian McDermott, and Mick McCarthy have been touted as possible successors for Trapattoni, but Swedish striker Tobias Hysen thinks that former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane is the best man for the job.

Keane is out of work after having left Ipswich Town a few years ago. So far, he has managed only two clubs in his managerial career. He had the most success at Sunderland when they were in the Championship, but his record in the Premier league is mediocre. This led to the Sunderland exit following which he took over the Ipswich job. He was given the task of getting Ipswich into the Premier league, but he failed in that objective despite spending a lot of money.

“I played under Roy at Sunderland in 2006/07 when he took us from bottom to top of the Championship. I’ve no doubt he’ll get back into management because he was probably the best I played under. All Roy does is place the same demands on players that he placed upon himself at United. Some of the English players at Sunderland had a problem with that approach but I didn’t. He was one of Ireland’s most successful players, so why not give him a chance to manage the national team?” asked Hysen.

So far, Keane has been noncommittal about his next job in management because he is aware that another failure could spell doom to his aspirations of being a top manager.