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12th June 2025
09:58am BST
When Stephen Kenny left his role as Ireland boss in 2023, Stephen Bradley was an obvious candidate to replace him, given his success with Shamrock Rovers.
Speaking with Off the Ball, Bradley revealed that he was initially 'approached through back channels', before a meeting with then FAI CEO Johnathan Hill, and then CFO Marc Canham, was set up.
But when the two top dogs failed to show up after 15 minutes, Bradley left the call.
He explained: "I was approached through back channels at the start, asking if this was something that I would be interested in, and having that conversation.
"Obviously the answer was yes. So a meeting was set up between myself and Mark Canham and Jonathan Hill, and unfortunately both Mark and Jonathan were late for the meeting, 15 minutes late, so I left.
"That probably summed up how serious the interest was for me to have the job, which I found disrespectful and not good enough, to be honest with you.
"If I was someone who they were really serious about having that job, they would not have been late for that meeting."
After years of FAI incompetency and controversies, few will be surprised at this story.
And considering Bradley's resume and the respect he has, few will be on the side of the FAI.
Bradley, whose son Josh who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2022, also spoke about his managerial desires.
He added: "I've made no secret of the fact that I want to manage at the highest level. I want to manage at the highest level possible, and that's my ambition, that's my hunger, that's my desire.
"Has there been opportunities in the last few years? Yeah, there have been opportunities, but the personal circumstances don't allow for that.
"Please God, in the future we get good news and the whole picture becomes clearer. In the last two and a half years, there's no job in the world that would have taken me away from my family situation."
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