FA confirm decision on Birmingham City coach

BirminghamLive’s most recent news about Birmingham City features a noteworthy update regarding Blues coach John O’Shea.

Birmingham City coach John O’Shea has left his position with the Republic of Ireland national team after the departure of manager Stephen Kenny.

O’Shea had been working as assistant coach to Kenny before the manager was relieved of his duties on Wednesday. A 1-1 draw with New Zealand proved to be the final straw for Kenny, who failed to lead Ireland to qualification for Euro 2024 after six defeats from their eight qualifiers.

O’Shea, 42, a former defender for Manchester United, joined Kenny’s coaching staff earlier this year after spending three years assisting the under-21 team. O’Shea’s playing career saw him earn 118 caps for his nation.

Along with Ashley Cole, Carl Robinson, and Pete Shuttleworth, he became a member of Wayne Rooney’s backroom crew at the Blues last month. Permission to carry on coaching on the international scene was granted to O’Shea and Cole, who oversee the England under-21 team.

However, O’Shea can now devote all of his efforts to assisting Rooney in turning around the Blues’ fortunes. The FAI confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that O’Shea, chief scout Stephen Rice, assistant manager Keith Andrews, goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely, and performance coach Damien Doyle had all resigned.

“We appreciate all of Keith, John, Stephen, Dean, and Damien’s hard work and dedication. FAI director of football Marc Canham said, “I would especially like to thank Keith Andrews, who has served the Association so well in the Assistant Manager role with both the U-21s and senior team. He leaves with our very best wishes for his future career in football.”

“During their tenure with the Association, each of them has demonstrated an exceptional level of professionalism in their roles, and we are deeply appreciative of their diligent work with the senior men’s national team. The FAI wishes them the very best of luck in the future and extends its gratitude and respect to them as they depart.”