Robbie Keane is among the candidates being considered by Dundalk to succeed sacked manager Vinny Perth.
Owners Peak6 have delegated Perth’s assistants John Gill and Alan Reynolds to take temporary charge for Saturday’s trip to Sligo Rovers but the Americans are busily working on appointing a longer-term boss at the reigning champions.
Keane is currently available having lost two jobs in the space of three months.
Ireland’s record goalscorer had dovetailed his glittering playing career into a coaching stint as Mick McCarthy’s assistant with Ireland before reuniting with former teammate Jonathan Woodgate in a similar role at Championship club Middlesbrough.
“Officially, I was told last night around 7pm, but it was inevitable, so it wasn’t a shock,” Perth told RTÉ about his sacking, which came just 24 hours after Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat to NK Celje which signalled their exit from their Uefa Champions League at the first hurdle.
“I had a very brief discussion with the chairman (Bill Hulsizer) and decided to move on and go our separate ways.
“There have been things in the background that just haven’t been good enough.”
Crucially, Keane possesses the Uefa Pro License qualification, an FAI prerequisite which clubs have struggled to comply with, given the limited pool of recipients.
Speaking last month, the Ireland legend outlined his ambition to become a standalone boss, yet only when the right opportunity arose. His former Inter Milan manager, the experienced Marcello Lippi, advised Keane to take his time.
