O’Neill is perfect fit for Republic job

Martin O’Neill can be the Republic of Ireland’s Gordon Strachan.

I believe the former Celtic manager is the perfect fit to take over their national team from Giovanni Trapattoni. And if there’s some reason why he can’t or won’t take the job, I’d give it to my old Spurs team-mate, Glenn Hoddle.

Both men have something to prove when it comes to management.

Martin had a disappointing spell at Sunderland but says he’s now got it out of his system. Glenn has been in the wilderness for some time, but is far too talented to be left cooling his heels on the sidelines.

If you look at the careers of O’Neill and Strachan, there are some striking similarities. Both men had great success in England with teams that punched above their weight.

O’Neill won the League Cup twice with Leicester City and took them into Europe. Strachan kept Southampton in the Premiership and took them to an FA Cup Final.

And, of course, both had years of success with Celtic. They were expected to deliver trophies at domestic level, but Europe is always more of a challenge for Scottish clubs.

However, the Hoops reached the knock-out stage of the Champions League under both men and Martin O’Neill famously took them all the way to the UEFA Cup Final in Seville 10 years ago.

After that success, their CVs took a hit in the north-east of England. Strachan failed at Middlesbrough, while O’Neill didn’t live up to his early promise at Sunderland.

But Gordon is now creating a fresh sense of optimism in the Scotland camp and there’s no reason to believe Martin can’t do the same with Ireland. He’ll want to show he still has the ability to manage at the top level.

He’s a deep thinker on the game and, whether he admits it or not, his pride will have been dented by the way things finished at the Stadium of Light.

Some people reckon his fire has gone out and he’s lacking the old energy. I don’t buy that, but I don’t think we can get away from mentioning that his wife’s illness must have taken a toll on him.

The Ireland job is really a part-time role, and that should suit Martin nicely. Like Gordon Strachan is finding with Scotland, the odd young player or two will emerge occasionally and give the team a boost. But mostly you’re trying to squeeze that little bit extra out of the players when they turn up for friendlies and qualifiers.

Successful managers of smaller nations burst onto the scene six or seven times a year and project an air of excitement and confidence.

Martin and Gordon are both masters at doing that.