FAI close to deal with Staunton

SOCCER: Former international skipper Steve Staunton is on the verge of being appointed as the next manager of the Irish international team with talks involving the 36-year-old Louthman, his would-be "adviser" Bobby Robson, and leading FAI officials having reached an advanced stage in recent days.

All of the parties involved were keeping their heads down yesterday but the negotiations are said to have reached the stage where there are mainly loose ends to be sorted out and a deal could be in place by the end of this week with Stuanton and Robson being unveiled as early as next week in Dublin.

Details of the contractual arrangements between the various parties remain sketchy at this stage but it seems both men are in line for four-year deals, something that would, in Robson's case, take him past his 76th birthday.

Other roles within the management team are being discussed but it is believed Alan Kelly who, like Staunton, attended Mick McCarthy's press conference in the immediate aftermath of Roy Keane's sending home from Saipan, is a likely candidate for the goalkeeping coach's job. The third player at the top table with McCarthy that night, Niall Quinn, is not expected to be involved.

The prospective appointment of the former Liverpool and Aston Villa star, who has next to no managerial experience, marks a considerable shift in approach of the FAI to filling the vacancy created by what amounted to the dismissal of Brian Kerr last October. A succession of big names with serious management credentials were floated in the weeks that followed Kerr's departure with Martin O'Neill clearly identified as the prime target.

In common with the likes of Alex Ferguson and Gus Hiddink, though, the former Celtic manager proved unobtainable and so the association's three-man recruitment committee, led by FAI chief executive John Delaney, re-jigged its list of priorities with management experience slipping well down the list of required qualities.

Staunton was mentioned in connection with the job from early on but when the reports first surfaced even his manager at Walsall, Paul Merson, expressed some surprise that the club's player-coach was the subject of such intense speculation. He insisted no official contact had been made. Even then, however, there was no shortage of admiration within Merrion Square for the long-time international defender's perceived leadership qualities.

The strength of character he showed during the World Cup of 2002 when Keane's departure threatened to entirely undermine the team's preparations has certainly been regarded favourably and he would have been known to the FAI's key administrators as one of the squad's representatives in discussions over the "players' pool".

He is said to enjoy a good relationship with Delaney and has apparently convinced him he has energy and ideas to reverse the recent slide in the national team's fortunes.

There is nevertheless a recognition he does not have the experience to take the job on without the help of a more seasoned campaigner and that is where Robson comes in.

The Englishman has one of the most impressive CVs in the game although he was undermined to a significant manner during his latter days at Newcastle where he lost key battles within the dressingroom with big-name stars and ultimately lost the confidence of the club's senior executives.

Born in 1933, his age appears to have been a significant factor in both cases with some of the players too young perhaps even to fully appreciate his success at Barcelona where he won both the Spanish Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1996/'97, his only season in charge.

Elsewhere his achievements within management stretch back to 1973 when he led Ipswich to the Texaco Cup (competition between British and Republic of Ireland team who had not qualified for Europe). An FA Cup followed in 1978 and a Uefa Cup three years after that. He managed England to the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and the semi-finals in 1990 in Italy. Between the two, however, he had to fight off persistent media calls for his replacement, most notably in the wake of Euro'88 where his side lost all three of its games, including one to Ireland.

After leaving the job on a considerable high he moved to Holland where he won successive titles with PSV in 1991 and '92, then Portugal where he led Porto first to the cup (1994) and then to two straight championships (1995 and '96).

Along the way he consistently promoted a highly positive brand of football and played a major part in developing the management careers of Jose Mourinho and Frank Arnesen, now key figures at Chelsea. The former got his first big break when he became Robson's translator in Portugal, the latter was plucked from the commercial side of PSV to become assistant manager during the Englishman's second season at Eindhoven.

Despite his somewhat cuddly public image Robson is said to be a tough and uncompromising figure, qualities that have helped to keep him at the top for more than 50 years. Were it not for his age, in fact, the combination would look a lot more logical with Robson in charge and Staunton as his assistant with a view to the Irishman taking charge somewhere further down the line.

As it is, a very great deal will depend on the ability of the two men to strike up a good working relationship and to make the most of their respective strengths.