New man faces hectic initiation

THE new Republic of Ireland manager is going to inherit a hectic end-of-season programme, with as many as four games in June.

That is the scenario awaiting Jack Charlton's successor as the FAI's six-man committee, appointed to lay the ground work for the appointment, prepares to meet for the first time in Dublin tomorrow.

The Republic's failure to qualify for the European Championship finals in England have forced a hasty revision of plans.

Ironically, Holland, who were responsible for that elimination, are likely to be one of the countries to profit from Ireland's rearranged programme.

Anxious to reacquaint themselves with the peculiarities of British football before taking on England and Scotland in the first phase of the European finals, Dutch authorities moved last week to organise a game with Ireland.

Initially the arrangement was that the Dutch would play in Dublin, thereby returning the visit of the Irish to Tilburg in April 1994. But following further representations by the authorities in The Hague, it was agreed to reverse the arrangement.

In doing so, the FAI sacrificed the centre-piece of their 75th anniversary celebrations. But a spokesman said yesterday that it was now hoped to mark the occasion by persuading big-name opposition to travel to Dublin before the start of next season.

The Holland game will be played at Rotterdam on June 4th and the Irish squad will travel directly from there to the United States to open their programme in the US Cup the following Saturday.

In addition to Ireland and the host country, the entry will include Mexico, and all the signs are that the last place will go to Norway.

One of Ireland's fixtures will be staged in Washington, with the remaining two in either Boston or New York. Having missed out on the Irish team during US `94, the chances are that Boston officials will have better luck now in lobbying to have the Irish based in their city.

On the first occasion which Ireland established camp in Boston, in 1991, they attracted a crowd of almost 52,000 to the Foxboro Stadium, just outside the city, and they were no less popular when they returned for the inaugural US Cup tournament the following year.

On that occasion, they lost to both the US and Italy before beating Portugal. Afterwards Charlton, unsure whether to treat the competition seriously, said he would never again take a squad to the tournament.

With his going, that judgment is now set at nought. But how will his replacement react when told to prepare a squad for an out-of-season programme with no real relevance?

"Obviously, we would like to have consulted with the new manager before arranging our programme for June, but time constraints made this impractical," said the FAI's chief executive, Sean Connolly.

"The feeling here is that the four-match programme will give the new man an ideal opportunity to get to know his squad and, without the pressures of competitive football, get his house in order for the start, of the World Cup qualifying in the autumn."

At this point, the new manager's first assignment will be in the Czech Republic in April. But Connolly hopes to put a fixture for March in place within the next week.