Authors: Trevor Keane
‘Brian hated when anyone left the club. If you were playing against a former teammate and had the temerity to talk to him before the match, you would hear Brian’s dulcet tones roaring at you, “Get away from him. If he wanted to talk to you, he wouldn’t have left.” When I left St Pat’s he didn’t speak to me for three years. That said, he is without a doubt the best manager I ever played for.
‘He used to the treat the club’s money as if it was his own. If we lost a game and one of the board members came in with the pay packets, Brian would take them off him and hold onto them until the following Tuesday. And so help you if you went over to him to ask him for yours. He’d give you a good tongue lashing, saying your performance didn’t merit payment.
‘My dad used to say to me, “If St Patrick’s Athletic played Shelbourne or Manchester United, they’d win 1–0 or 2–1. However, if they played a First Division team from the League of Ireland they would only win 1–0 or 2–1 there, too.” It seemed to be Brian’s way. I suppose it holds true for the criticism he received while in charge of Ireland. There was always a perception that the team didn’t push forward and always sat back a bit, although the same can be said of the current regime. There is also a feeling that luck was most definitely not with Brian.’
In December 1996 Kerr quit his post with St Patrick’s Athletic to become the technical director of the FAI. It was the start of a golden era for Irish football. His new role meant that he was responsible for the Republic of Ireland sides from Under-16 to Under-20 level. His first major tournament was the 1997 World Youth Championships. Kerr stuck to his roots by including three players from the League of Ireland in his squad and in the process he showed his tactical ability by leading Ireland to a bronze medal position. The tournament saw a number of stars emerge into Irish footballing folklore, including a young Damian Duff. The next year he guided the Republic of Ireland to an unprecedented double, and to date Ireland’s only international trophies, by winning both the Under-16 and Under-18 European Championships. A number of the players involved would go on to win full international caps, most notably Damian Duff and Robbie Keane, who have since become household names.
Former West Ham goalkeeper Alex O’Reilly was a member of the Under-18 team that won the European Championship in Cyprus under Kerr: ‘The preparation was the most professional I had ever seen. I had not seen anything like it before, not even at West Ham. Brian would tell us what he wanted from us. He really knew what he wanted and how he wanted us to play. It was so in-depth. Nothing was a shock to us, as he knew every little detail about the opposition. We were never overwhelmed going out on the pitch.
‘Brian had a great group of players within the squad. Everyone got on, and there was no one who was too big for his boots – it made Brian and Noel O’Reilly’s jobs easier. England had a bigger pool of players than us, and they beat us 1–0 during the tournament, but we stuck together as a team. We would be down at the pool with Brian, Noel and a guitar, having a singsong, so there was never any boredom to deal with. And no one was left out, no matter if you could sing or not. A lot of other teams’ players would be in their rooms from about seven or eight, and this led to them getting distracted, so it was great that Noel and Brian kept it entertaining.
‘Brian was not a ranter and raver. We played as a team, and he kept everything out in the open. I think the players really responded to it. Brian is definitely up there as one of the best managers I played under. I had great admiration for him and what he achieved.’
Jason Gavin was also a member of the Under-18 European Championship squad and later played at the FIFA World Youth Championships in Nigeria under Kerr. He remembers the camaraderie that existed within the squad, something that seems to have been a major part of any team that Brian has been involved with: ‘Brian has a great ability to get players to like and trust him very quickly. He was a great motivator, and in Noel O’Reilly he had a great coach. The Under-18 team was fantastically prepared, and we all knew each other really well. A lot of us had played together from the age of twelve. Stephen McPhail, Richard Dunne, Robbie Keane, Alan Quinn and I were all very familiar with each other. It helps that the squad all got on well. Brian helped with that too. He was easy to speak to and have a laugh with, although he could easily switch into manager mode, too.
‘The preparation was second to none. For the Under-18 Championships we were drawn in the same group as England, who at that time had an amazing youth team. I remember we headed over to Cyprus a few weeks early to acclimatise to the heat. The preparation and coaching off the pitch was just as important, and Brian was great in this area. We knew everything about the opponents, their strengths and weaknesses. Brian analysed them, and we would watch DVDs of them playing. It was spot-on preparation.
‘Brian was very approachable, and you could have a talk with him if you weren’t happy. I started the tournament on the bench and was obviously not happy, as I wanted to be playing. I came on against England and did well, and Brian said to me, “If you get in and do well, you’ll stay in.” And he was true to his word, as I started against Cyprus in the next game and then played all the way through to the final. He was a great manager to play and learn under.’
Colin Hawkins was a member of the youth side that captured the Irish public’s imagination in 1997: ‘Brian was brilliant for me. I had just been released by Coventry, so as a young player it was a tough time for me. But Brian had named me in a forty-man training squad that assembled in Limerick. It was actually my first time meeting him, but I managed to make it into the final squad. It was a great show of faith by Brian in my abilities.
‘We got together and started our preparations at the University of Limerick. Brian had really done his research. The main thing that the squad would struggle with in Malaysia, which is where the Championships were held that year, was the humidity, so Brian tried to prepare us for it. Firstly we would wear extra jackets when training and also when we were in the sauna. He also got us used to drinking loads of water, even though the weather in Limerick was obviously a lot different to what it would be like in Asia. We all thought he was crazy at the start, but those things definitely helped us over there, and we found it easier to cope with the heat. On his days off, Brian would go to watch the other teams, and he knew the name of all our opponents, so we were well prepared in that sense, too.
‘Brian and his assistant Noel O’Reilly really built a great team spirit. We had a real siege mentality. A lot of the other teams didn’t understand it when they saw us in the lobby of the hotel having a singsong. Before games we would form a circle, and Noel would often say a prayer. There was a real unity about us.
‘We were not actually aware of the fuss that was being made of us in Ireland. We were too far away to realise. Brian really took the pressure off the team. He had us concentrate on our own game and told us not to worry about the opposition. This was especially true against Spain. We knew they would keep the ball all day, but Brian had that siege mentality instilled in us, and we were so prepared on the day. In the end we won thanks to a Trevor Molloy penalty.
‘The semi-final was a tougher game again. Argentina had knocked out England and Brazil on their way to the semi-finals, and nobody fancied our chances, but we stuck to our jobs and only lost 1–0 in the end.
‘Brian was a very good manager, and tactically he was excellent. He juggled the players around so that people got games while others were rested, and he also managed to keep the players fresh and happy, which is hard to do when you are away at a tournament like that.’
In the 1999 World Youth Championships, the Republic of Ireland team was knocked out by hosts Nigeria in the quarter-final. Kerr continued his excellent record in under-age youth football by once again leading Ireland to qualify for the 2003 World Youth Championships before leaving the role to take up the position of manager of the senior national side. And it was through his work with Irish youth teams that he made his name, which led to him replacing Mick McCarthy as manager of the senior team.
Former Millwall player Richard Sadlier played for Kerr at youth level and says, ‘I became involved in the Under-18 team, and at the time the profile of the under-age set-up was at its highest. Brian was really down to earth, and the role suited him. I was only seventeen at the time, so I didn’t have much experience of managers to compare him with, but there were no airs and graces about him. He was very meticulous and knew exactly what he wanted. Each coaching session had a specific aim, and plans were laid out. He liked everything to be perfect and could get cantankerous if they weren’t. We were in Nigeria for the Under-20 World Championships, and the bus was running twenty minutes late to pick us up. Brian was getting annoyed. Then when we got to the training pitches the grass was up to his knees. Well, that tipped him over the edge.
‘He was not afraid to make changes if they were needed. In Nigeria my teammate Robbie Ryan was told to get ready to go on. To our surprise we then realised that Brian was taking off a player who had just gone on. Before a game we would watch videos of our opponents and when the team line-up was announced for a game he would talk through individual roles and set-plays. He knew our strengths, and we were never outplayed.’
Although his tactics and preparation were the key to his success, Kerr also created a close-knit group of players, especially at under-age level, which helped Ireland prevail against more illustrious European opponents. At that time, Ireland youth players based in Ireland trained once during the week and once at the weekends with their clubs, while their English counterparts had the luxury of four or fives nights’ training in a professional set-up.
When Brian eventually got his chance at the top job he had very big boots to fill. Mick McCarthy had had a successful World Cup campaign, although since then things had not quite gone to plan. After two defeats in the opening two Euro 2004 qualifying games, morale was low and the players’ confidence needed to be improved. Mick McCarthy ultimately resigned from his post, paving the way for Kerr to take what many assumed was his natural role.
In January 2003 Kerr was appointed as the new manager of the senior team. In him, the FAI had a manager who had known the players before they all became rich and famous, and he had led them to success before. His appointment met with a very positive response, given his success with the under-age team. He was, however, left the massive challenge of reviving Ireland’s bid to achieve qualification to Euro 2004. Brian had six games to save Ireland’s 2004 qualification campaign and he began his competitive tenure with a 2–1 away win over Georgia. This was followed with a disappointing 0–0 away draw with Albania. Brian’s first competitive game in Ireland was a nervy 2–1 win over Albania secured by a last minute own goal, before another home win over Georgia saw Brian with three wins and a draw from his opening four games. The autumn brought Brian a 1–1 draw with Russia in his first match against a top tier European side, but any hope Brian had of finishing his first campaign unbeaten were dashed as Ireland lost 2–0 away to Switzerland. In the end Ireland finished the group in third place, four points off qualification.
With Brian now familiar with the different pace of senior international football, hopes were high for the qualification campaign for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Pitted against France, Israel and Switzerland, Ireland drew five and lost one game to finish the group in fourth place just three points away from an automatic place in Germany. Draws at home and away to Israel and Switzerland proved costly, especially as in three of the four games, Ireland were in the lead at some point. The initial optimism that had surrounded Brian’s appointment was fading and his defensive tactics did not sit well with the media and critics. Brian’s response to this criticism was a refusal to answer questions concerning his tactics and decisions. The stand-off did not have the desired effect, however, as it only increased the divide between the manager and the media who continued their campaign against him and his approach. Kerr himself concedes that the football Ireland played under him was conservative, but it was intended to win matches and get results: ‘I was pushing the FAI to arrange friendly games against the top fifteen sides in the world, as I felt it was the only way to push the team forward. At the end of the season in June 2004 we played Nigeria, Jamaica and Holland over the course of a week, and we beat Jamaica and Holland and lost 3–0 to Nigeria, but we only had the bare bones of a team. Against Holland I had a midfield of Alan Quinn, Matt Holland, Graham Barrett and Liam Miller, and we won 1–0.
‘I knew we were risking things taking on high-profile teams, but it was the only way to lead Ireland into the future. There was little benefit in playing countries lower than or the same as us in the rankings, as you learned very little from those games.’
Brian’s preparation, his development of younger players and his ability to work on a limited budget were key to his rise up the footballing management ladder. As an Irishman who had enjoyed European success with Ireland’s youngsters, the FAI, media and public all felt that Ireland had the right man for the manager’s job. Despite the acrimonious parting of ways in the end, Brian’s ascent up the footballing ranks in Ireland proves that in the modern era of football you do not have to be a former player or to have managed in England to reach the pinnacle of Irish football.
LIFE POST-IRELAND
Brian’s tenure with Ireland came to an end with the failure of the FAI to renew his contract after the unsuccessful 2006 qualifying campaign. While he pondered his next move in football, Brian became involved in a directorial capacity with Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI) and also provided regular analysis on football on radio, television and in the newspapers.