NEWS: Joe Kinnear's claim that he declined an interview for the Ireland manager's job was ever so politely disputed by the man who was supposed to have made the offer yesterday. Bryan Hamilton made it clear he has not spoken with the Luton manager since being asked to help the Football Association of Ireland with the appointment of a successor to Mick McCarthy.
Speaking yesterday at a routine press conference ahead of Luton's Division Two game with Barnsley this afternoon Kinnear, whose late withdrawal from the race to succeed Jack Charlton seven years ago was variously put down at the time to either disappointment with the money on offer or an attempt to save face once it became obvious McCarthy was about to be appointed, claimed Hamilton had "asked me if I would go on a shortlist and be interviewed along with seven or eight other people, and I said no".
He added: "If they don't know what I'm capable of doing, why interview me? I've done enough in my life. If they want to give me the job they can, but I don't do interviews."
However, when this version of events was put to Hamilton the former Northern Ireland manager expressed both surprise and disappointment, remarking, "I like Joe, I have a lot of respect for him. But that sequence of events is not accurate.
"I haven't spoken to Joe," he continued. "I certainly haven't offered him anything. That's not my role. I don't have the responsibility or the authority. I'm a wee bit surprised and I hope the quotes aren't correct because it would be a little disappointing."
Though Hamilton declined to elaborate, he said that he had made a point of contacting anybody of note who had expressed an interest in the job in recent times and added: "I would have loved to have spoken with Joe."
The implication appears to be that an attempt was made to sound out Kinnear regarding his interest in the post but that he did not respond. The 56-year-old former international did not therefore take part in the first round of informal meetings with Hamilton and so could not possibly have been considered for the shortlist.
"I wouldn't like to in any way, shape or form malign Joe, I'm a big admirer of his," said Hamilton, "but if those quotes are accurate then that is not an accurate reflection of what has happened."
A spokesman for the FAI said that the association would not get into discussing individuals but added: "We have a shortlist of candidates, each of whom has been contacted and all of whom were happy to take part in the process."
Hamilton, who confirmed that he has now contacted all of the candidates on the shortlist, declined to give any indication of where or when they will be interviewed but it is expected that the meetings will take place in Britain during the course of next week.
There are suggestions, meanwhile, from leading FAI officials that Philippe Troussier and Brian Kerr may be emerging as the favourites to be named as the new manager over the next two weeks.
Kerr is believed to have interviewed well for the position on Wednesday morning before leaving for the United Arab Emirates with an Irish under-20 squad while those assessing the candidates are said to be impressed with the Frenchman achievements in each of his previous international jobs.
