The Republic of Ireland appear to have ruled out interim boss John O’Shea from taking over as head coach permanently.

The Football Association of Ireland said last week it plans to name a permanent successor to Stephen Kenny in early April, with director of football Marc Canham revealing at a press conference on Monday that the preferred candidate was still in work.

“The process of the appointment of the permanent new head coach is very close to the end, nearing its end point, and we look forward to announcing that new permanent head coach in early April,” Canham said at a press conference alongside O’Shea.

“Existing contractual obligations mean that we are not in a position to announce any further details at this point but as we have committed to, we will announce that in early April.

“The process has been ongoing for a period of time, we have given a series of updates, but we are near the end. We are at a really advanced stage but for different practical reasons we can’t confirm that until early April.”

Former Manchester United and Ireland defender O’Shea was appointed interim boss last week for the home friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland later this month.

“Look, my focus is on these two games,” said the 42-year-old. “When I got the message from Mark just over a week ago it was an amazing feeling, I’m very proud.

“It’s an amazing feeling and I can’t wait for it to come round.

“(The future) takes care of itself, I’m focused on these two games and we’ll see what happens then.”

O’Shea will be assisted by Paddy McCarthy and Glenn Whelan, as well as former national team boss Brian Kerr as technical director.