Brady To Leave In April

The Football Association of Ireland today (Saturday, February 13) confirmed that Liam Brady will finish his role as assistant manager with the senior international team when his contract expires in April this year.

Liam started working with the FAI in March 2008 as part of the new senior management team alongside Marco Tardelli and Giovanni Trapattoni and played a significant role in developing the current senior Irish squad during the World Cup qualification campaign.

Speaking today, Liam Brady said;

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working as assistant manager for my country over the past two years and I thank Giovanni, Marco, Alan, Fausto, the backroom team, the players and the fans for their tremendous support during that time. As a former Irish captain it was a real pleasure to be part of growing and developing the new generation of Irish players who performed so well over the last campaign.

“The decision to end my involvement with Ireland has been taken in light of my continued work as Director of Youth Development at Arsenal. The Ireland role required me to be away a lot of time and although Arsenal made clear they would have been quite happy for me to continue, I have decided it is not right in the circumstances to remain in position after I complete my contract this April.

“I thank the FAI and everyone involved in the Irish set up. It has been a great personal experience for me and I wish Giovanni, Marco and all the players all the very best for the coming campaign.”

Commenting on the news, Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni said;

“Liam has been a great asset to the Ireland management team and we will all be sorry to see him go after his last match with us against Brazil in the Emirates Stadium. He has done a great job here and I know all of the players join me in wishing him every continued success at Arsenal.”

Chief Executive of the Football Association of Ireland, John Delaney said;

“Liam is a legend of Irish football and a gentleman to work with. He has impressed everyone here at the Association with his dedication and commitment. His lifetime of experience at the highest levels in the game, in Italy, England and Ireland brought a necessary dynamic to the original building of the team and contributed significantly to the success of the last campaign. We wish him all the very best in his continuing role at Arsenal.”

Daniel "Pitchside" Pitcher Twitter: @DanFM104Sport About: Dan "Pitchside" Pitcher provides insight and commentary as the chief soccer and rugby correspondent for Sportspeak.