McCarthy: Don't be tempted

McCarthy (c) considered combining club with country

By BBC Sport Online's Mark Barden

Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy is warning Peter Taylor not to get drawn into a longer commitment to managing England part-time.

The Leicester City and former England Under-21 manager has agreed to take charge of the national team for the friendly against Italy on 15 November.

McCarthy said: "I'm sure Peter will enjoy taking care of England against Italy, and it will be valuable experience for him.

"But if things go well - and he will be keen to prove himself at the highest level - he shouldn't be tempted to carry on if he's needed.

"It would be impossible, even with the best will in the world, to do the two jobs at once for any length of time.

"I was offered a club job last year and was told I could combine it with my international duties, and I have to admit that I was tempted.

Focus

"But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that there's no way you can come off a bad international result in midweek and focus completely on that weekend's league game.

"It's difficult to win games at international level, and it's difficult to win them in the Premiership, so I can't imagine the stress that a manager would place himself under if he tried to do both.

"The only way it would work is if you had consistent success at both. But if a manager's club results were poor, the first thing the fans would blame would be his international role."

It's difficult to win games at international level, and it's difficult to win them in the Premiership, so I can't imagine the stress that a manager would place himself under if he tried to do both

  Mick McCarthy

McCarthy, who captained the Republic to the quarter-finals of Italia 90 and took over as manager from Jack Charlton in 1996, accepts clubs cannot be blamed for jealously guarding their assets.

But the former Barnsley, Manchester City, Celtic and Lyon defender says a "common-sense" approach to Club v Country issues pays dividends.

"I can honestly say I have no problems with all the clubs I deal with. I have a very good relationship with their managers, and if I can do them favours I will.

"For instance, Bobby Robson was keen that his first-choice 'keeper at Newcastle, Shay Given, should have more time to get over an injury, and I was happy to go along with that."

Highest honour

McCarthy adds that, despite the huge wages and celebrity status of today's stars, representing your country is still the highest honour.

"I can only speak for Ireland's players," he said, "and I know they take just as much pride in pulling on the shirt as I ever did.

"But I'm also a realist, and I know that Arsenal v Lazio or Leeds v AC Milan can be bigger game than, say, Ireland v Andorra or Ireland v Estonia for the players involved.

"Every match has a different level of importance attached to it, and that's where common-sense comes into the equation."