I would love to boss Ireland, but not yet - Mac
YEP 13/9/13
Brian McDermott has international ambitions with Eire but for now his focus is solely on managing United. Phil Hay reports.
Behind the buzz of Brian McDermott’s press conference yesterday was the noise of Celtic blood flowing. He sounds like an Englishman but talks like the Irish, deeply emotional about the privilege of managing the Republic of Ireland’s national team.
That particular job has McDermott on a hook but it is not for him. Not at the moment. Leeds United are fortunate that five months in their company has given him something else to treasure. He will coach the Republic one day if circumstances permit but for the time being all bets on him are off.
McDermott sat in his flat in Harrogate on Wednesday and watched the odds on him succeeding Giovanni Trapattoni bob and weave. “Martin O’Neill was top and I was second,” he said. “If you consider that I’ve been a manager at this level for what, four years, that gives me nothing but immense pride.”
Earlier that day he spoke to Leeds’ managing director, David Haigh, and acting chief executive Paul Hunt to reassure both men that he was not about to cast his line into Irish waters.
The possibility of him doing so became very real when John Delaney, the Football Association of Ireland’s chief executive, named McDermott as a viable candidate to replace Trapattoni, a comment which upset the board at Elland Road. Relief was tangible once McDermott announced that he had no desire to bail out of the three-year contract he agreed with United as recently as April 12.
The 52-year-old’s Irish roots are disguised by his accent. His parents grew up in Eire and he spent his younger days supporting Sligo Rovers, a League of Ireland club. He was in Dublin this week to watch Clare play Cork in the All-Ireland hurling final. Part of the draw to the Republic job is his regret at representing England’s Under-21s and denying himself the chance of a full Republic cap. He patriotism is undivided.
“One day I want to manage the Republic of Ireland,” McDermott said. “Everybody knows what I feel about Ireland – my family, my history and how important it all is to me. I’m incredibly proud.
“But at this moment in time I’m at a fantastic club. I’ve kind of been adopted here and I feel I owe this club and the supporters.
“I came here in April and certain things were said (by United’s board). Whether that was the case or not, I’m here now and I’m committed 100 per cent. I’d regard Leeds United as a very big club.
“It’s been something of a privilege to even see my name bandied about with the Republic job, and John Delaney saying what he said is a privilege too. It’s a job I’d want to do but at this moment I wouldn’t be leaving Leeds United for anyone. In years to come when Leeds get fed up of me, that could be the case.”
There is unlikely to have been any contingency at Elland Road for McDermott clearing his desk so soon. He was appointed on a long-term basis a month before the end of last season – a replacement for the increasingly maligned Neil Warnock – and has aligned himself to the step-by-step attitude of United’s owner, GFH Capital.
Over the summer he requested and received financial support to improve and reorganise United’s training ground at Thorp Arch, a renowned facility which was in danger of becoming tired. His attendance at youth-team matches has been regular and the academy is part of his strategy for improving United’s first-team over time, in the absence of a weighty transfer fund. “We can’t spend big money but we can find a way to make us successful,” he said. “What’s important to me is that we become successful at Leeds United.”
So did McDermott give thought to the damage his departure might do to Leeds and this season, or to seasons to come? “It wouldn’t be right for Leeds United,” he said. “We’ve got a situation now where the club’s unified. I’d definitely say that the club’s united. You need that to be successful.
“I’m not saying it’s an overnight thing here because it’s not. We’re trying to build and there’s no quick fix. But what you’ve had at Leeds United over the years is constant quick fixes, constant changes of managers; 10 in however many years. It’s a time now in my opinion for stability, time to move the club forward, bring young players through, build the team slowly.
“I want to be successful here. I feel these fans deserve it. We’ve got 5,000 going to Bolton (tomorrow) and when I go to Dublin there’s so many Leeds fans there. You can’t believe it. And if you asked them ‘do you want the Leeds manager to leave to become the Republic manager at this moment’ I’m really not sure what their answer would be.
“We’re not in the position we want to be in but we’ve got fantastic spirit in our dressing room, and among the fans and the staff. I’ve got so much time for all of them.”
Leeds resume their season tomorrow placed 10th in the Championship, 14 positions above a Bolton Wanderers side who made a pig’s ear of the opening month. Experienced though McDermott appears, this is only his fourth full term as a top-level manager. O’Neill – the favourite for the Irish job – has far more to draw on. So too Mick McCarthy, another prominent candidate in the betting.
Aside from his sense of allegiance to United, McDermott is not certain that he is ready for the Republic job. Nor is he interested in contemplating a job-share.
“When you’ve got a job as fantastic as the Republic of Ireland, you have to commit to that 100 per cent,” he said. “That’s what the Irish would expect. That’s what they’d get if I ever got the opportunity.
“The other candidates who’ve been bandied around have been in jobs for an awful long time, longer than me. They’ve stood the test of time. I need to earn the right.”
Brian McDermott has international ambitions with Eire but for now his focus is solely on managing United. Phil Hay reports.
Behind the buzz of Brian McDermott’s press conference yesterday was the noise of Celtic blood flowing. He sounds like an Englishman but talks like the Irish, deeply emotional about the privilege of managing the Republic of Ireland’s national team.
That particular job has McDermott on a hook but it is not for him. Not at the moment. Leeds United are fortunate that five months in their company has given him something else to treasure. He will coach the Republic one day if circumstances permit but for the time being all bets on him are off.
McDermott sat in his flat in Harrogate on Wednesday and watched the odds on him succeeding Giovanni Trapattoni bob and weave. “Martin O’Neill was top and I was second,” he said. “If you consider that I’ve been a manager at this level for what, four years, that gives me nothing but immense pride.”
Earlier that day he spoke to Leeds’ managing director, David Haigh, and acting chief executive Paul Hunt to reassure both men that he was not about to cast his line into Irish waters.
The possibility of him doing so became very real when John Delaney, the Football Association of Ireland’s chief executive, named McDermott as a viable candidate to replace Trapattoni, a comment which upset the board at Elland Road. Relief was tangible once McDermott announced that he had no desire to bail out of the three-year contract he agreed with United as recently as April 12.
The 52-year-old’s Irish roots are disguised by his accent. His parents grew up in Eire and he spent his younger days supporting Sligo Rovers, a League of Ireland club. He was in Dublin this week to watch Clare play Cork in the All-Ireland hurling final. Part of the draw to the Republic job is his regret at representing England’s Under-21s and denying himself the chance of a full Republic cap. He patriotism is undivided.
“One day I want to manage the Republic of Ireland,” McDermott said. “Everybody knows what I feel about Ireland – my family, my history and how important it all is to me. I’m incredibly proud.
“But at this moment in time I’m at a fantastic club. I’ve kind of been adopted here and I feel I owe this club and the supporters.
“I came here in April and certain things were said (by United’s board). Whether that was the case or not, I’m here now and I’m committed 100 per cent. I’d regard Leeds United as a very big club.
“It’s been something of a privilege to even see my name bandied about with the Republic job, and John Delaney saying what he said is a privilege too. It’s a job I’d want to do but at this moment I wouldn’t be leaving Leeds United for anyone. In years to come when Leeds get fed up of me, that could be the case.”
There is unlikely to have been any contingency at Elland Road for McDermott clearing his desk so soon. He was appointed on a long-term basis a month before the end of last season – a replacement for the increasingly maligned Neil Warnock – and has aligned himself to the step-by-step attitude of United’s owner, GFH Capital.
Over the summer he requested and received financial support to improve and reorganise United’s training ground at Thorp Arch, a renowned facility which was in danger of becoming tired. His attendance at youth-team matches has been regular and the academy is part of his strategy for improving United’s first-team over time, in the absence of a weighty transfer fund. “We can’t spend big money but we can find a way to make us successful,” he said. “What’s important to me is that we become successful at Leeds United.”
So did McDermott give thought to the damage his departure might do to Leeds and this season, or to seasons to come? “It wouldn’t be right for Leeds United,” he said. “We’ve got a situation now where the club’s unified. I’d definitely say that the club’s united. You need that to be successful.
“I’m not saying it’s an overnight thing here because it’s not. We’re trying to build and there’s no quick fix. But what you’ve had at Leeds United over the years is constant quick fixes, constant changes of managers; 10 in however many years. It’s a time now in my opinion for stability, time to move the club forward, bring young players through, build the team slowly.
“I want to be successful here. I feel these fans deserve it. We’ve got 5,000 going to Bolton (tomorrow) and when I go to Dublin there’s so many Leeds fans there. You can’t believe it. And if you asked them ‘do you want the Leeds manager to leave to become the Republic manager at this moment’ I’m really not sure what their answer would be.
“We’re not in the position we want to be in but we’ve got fantastic spirit in our dressing room, and among the fans and the staff. I’ve got so much time for all of them.”
Leeds resume their season tomorrow placed 10th in the Championship, 14 positions above a Bolton Wanderers side who made a pig’s ear of the opening month. Experienced though McDermott appears, this is only his fourth full term as a top-level manager. O’Neill – the favourite for the Irish job – has far more to draw on. So too Mick McCarthy, another prominent candidate in the betting.
Aside from his sense of allegiance to United, McDermott is not certain that he is ready for the Republic job. Nor is he interested in contemplating a job-share.
“When you’ve got a job as fantastic as the Republic of Ireland, you have to commit to that 100 per cent,” he said. “That’s what the Irish would expect. That’s what they’d get if I ever got the opportunity.
“The other candidates who’ve been bandied around have been in jobs for an awful long time, longer than me. They’ve stood the test of time. I need to earn the right.”