Sir Alex and McDermott the same price to take over as Ireland boss

John Delaney, the chief executive of the Irish FA, may have said that nobody was being ruled out when it came to replacing Giovanni Trapattoni as national team manager.

However, there are just some names that would be instantly brushed off as viable candidates for various reasons, with Pep Guardiola, Justin Bieber and David Cameron all reasonable examples.

Many would have also added Sir Alex Ferguson’s name to the ‘not in a million years’ list of potential bosses, but the next Irish manager betting has the Manchester United legend surprisingly high among the list of candidates.

Sir Alex is the same price as Brian McDermott to be the next Irish manager at 33/1, with only six people offered at shorter prices.

Ireland are not rushing when it comes to appointing a successor to Trapattoni, as under-21 boss Noel King is taking over the reins on an interim basis, with support offered by former Holland under-17 coach Ruud Dokter.

This pair will be responsible for picking the Irish squad for the final two upcoming World Cup qualifiers away in Cologne against Germany and then at home to Kazakhstan.

Sir Alex is due in Ireland in November when stopping in Dublin as one of four legs to promote his new book and there may be some hope that he can be coaxed into considering the position.

Martin O’Neill remains the clear favourite to be the next Irish manager at 1/3, with former boss Mick McCarthy 4/1 to have a second stint in the hotseat.

King is 8/1 and these are the only three candidates currently priced at single-figure odds. Beyond them, the next shortest price is 20/1, which brings in former Irish skipper Roy Keane and Gerard Houllier.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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