Liam Brady gives new Ireland manager 'a fighting chance' of success

Liam Brady believes that the new Ireland manager will have a fighting chance of securing qualification at upcoming World Cups or European Championships.

The former Ireland midfielder feels that the next manager appointed will need to find a way to get results in upcoming campaigns, following on from Stephen Kenny's time in charge where vital victories were not forthcoming.

Brady does believe, however, that the next manager will benefit from the work that Kenny undertook in his three-year stint in charge of the national team, developing a young squad and offering real experience to the next generation of players coming through.

The former Arsenal and Juventus man expects that it will be a tough task for whoever is handed the role to qualify for the next World Cup in 2026, however, he does feel that Ireland should be automatically qualifying for the expanded Euros, having missed out in 2020 and 2024.

"It's a very young squad, which reflected Stephen Kenny's way of working and bringing players through," said Brady, speaking this week following his International Achievement award at the Soccer Writers lunch in Dublin.

"It will help his successor that there are players with plenty of games at international level under their belts and there is a squad of players to work with. For that, Kenny deserves credit.

'It's disappointing to be missing out on the Euros next summer especially when so many teams are involved these days.

"When we got there in 1988 there were only eight group winners in the finals. With 24 teams, we should be capable of qualifying for the Euros. It’s disappointing that Euro 2016 under Martin O’Neill is our last time to qualify.

'I know getting to World Cup in 2026 will be difficult. Two years after Euro ’88, we came