SLAVEN BILIC is rumoured to be the likely candidate to take the reigns at Ireland when John O’Shea’s interim role ends.
The former West Ham and Watford manager is now the frontrunner for the vacancy, according to the Irish Mirror.
O’Shea will be in charge of the side for the upcoming friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland but there is still much confusion over who will be the permanent replacement for Stephen Kenny.
Bilic is currently the manager of Saudi Arabian side Al-Fateh, so would not be in a position to take the job until May – when the league season ends.
The 55-year-old managed his native Croatia to the quarter-finals at Euro 2008, while beating England both home and away in the qualifiers.
He stayed as the country’s head coach for six years which included beating Ireland 3-1 in their Euro 2012 group of death.
Bilic is well-known in the Premier League for managing West Ham to seventh and 11th place finishes while also having stints at West Brom and Watford.
The Croat is on his second stint in the Saudi league having managed Al-Ittihad back in 2018.
Bilic has been all over the world while taking charge in Russia, Turkey and China with Locomotiv Moscow, Besiktas and Beijing Guoan.
Before he is available, Ireland fans will be eager to see how O’Shea and his chosen staff fare in the March friendlies.
The interim boss has opted for a wealth of experience in selecting Brian Kerr as a consultant.
In October 2005, after just one full qualifying campaign in charge, Kerr was axed as Ireland boss and felt his time was cut short.
Kerr, 70, said: “I had 33 games and nearly three years at it and I enjoyed that time. It was an absolute honour to have the position I had at the time.
“Maybe at the end of it I felt it ended quicker than it should have, from my point of view.
“I thought the results were quite good overall and there wasn’t many games when we put in poor performances.
“But that’s all well in the past and I’m very, very happy to be involved in any way.”