The 2026 World Cup finals earlier this summer means a slightly later than usual start to the EPL, which gets under way at the Emirates on this afternoon when champions Arsenal are at home to Frank Lampard’s Coventry City who were promoted after winning the English Championship last season.
In recent seasons Irish supporters have been bemoaning the fact that there are very few Irish managers in charge of clubs in the top flight in England. Last season Keith Andrews become the first permanent EPL manager from the Republic of Ireland since Chris Hughton left Brighton in 2019, and only the 7th in the EPL’s history And what great debut season the Dubliner had; the Bees finished the season in 9th place in the table. Down through the decades there were only a few managers, from the north and south of the island, who managed clubs in the old First Division and prior to Andrews the six former Republic of Ireland internationals who managed in the EPL on a permanent basis were: Joe Kinnear, David O’Leary, Mick McCarthy, Roy Keane, Hughton and Scottish-born Owen Coyle, who won one Irish cap.
Now we will have an Irish first in the EPL tomorrow evening as Andrews will have fellow Dubliner Damien Duff sitting on the Brentford bench beside him when they take on Tottenham at the G-Tech Community Stadium. Andrews and Duff previously worked together in Stephen Kenny’s backroom team in the early days Kenny’s time in charge of the Republic of Ireland senior team. Duff has been out of work since quitting Shelbourne in June 2025 and this will be his first time back in the EPL since he finished his career with Fulham in the spring of 2014. Nine EPL clubs have changed managers since the end of last season and most focus is likely to be on Liverpool where Andona Iraola has replaced the sacked Arne Slot and Manchester City where Enzo Maresca has replaced the very successful retiree Pep Guardiola. City are home to Bournemouth on Sunday while Liverpool travel to the North East to play Newcastle United. Once again just two Republic players will wear the captain’s armband in the EPL, Nathan Collins at Brentford and Dara O’Shea with promoted Ipswich Town.
