Alan Cawley: 'Give it to John O'Shea and let him get on with it'

Over the next few weeks, the Republic of Ireland will be among the nations that will have the nose pressed up against the glass watching 24 of the continent's leading sides battle it out at Euro 2024.

The Boys in Green met a dark horse last week and one of the favourites this week in friendlies, ultimately beating Hungary 2-1 at the Aviva Stadium before a 3-0 loss in Portugal on Tuesday night.

While both of those countries have more important matters on their hands over the next few weeks, Ireland return to action in September with a daunting UEFA Nations League group opener against England and with a high degree of uncertainty given that the manager's job has remained vacant since Stephen Kenny's departure more than six months ago.

The FAI have pledged to have someone in place before September and speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, Alan Cawley implored the association to bring clarity to the situation as soon as possible and added that he would be satisfied if John O'Shea were to be handed the reins permanently after his two windows as interim head coach.

"We have a long road ahead of us. No matter who comes in, it's going to be a difficult task, a difficult job," said the RTÉ soccer analyst and former LOI and Ireland U17 midfielder, who was on this week's episode alongside former striker Eoin Doyle to review the June friendlies and preview Euro 2024.

Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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