No gaffes as gaffer takes over

SOCCER/Appointment of Steve Staunton: Though there'll be tests a good deal more arduous than this when the football starts, the new Irish management team can take some satisfaction with the way they came through their first public outing at the Mansion House in Dublin yesterday.

In a quietly understated way, Steve Staunton, initially speaking from a script, hinted at the sort of commitment he was hired to bring to the revival of a team for which he starred in three World Cups.

His three staff, meanwhile, were supportive of the new man in all the right ways while also convincing when they spoke of the relish with which they will take on their own challenges in the Republic's new set-up.

For those who had come seeking clarification as to how the two main men will handle their respective roles, however, there was something of a surprise. It appears they don't actually know.

More than once they made it clear they had not yet had the opportunity to sit down and address the issue of demarcation even if, at one point, Staunton did appear to clear up the matter by declaring he was "the boss, the gaffer, whatever I say goes, the buck stops with me . . . Bobby has a huge role to play but I'll use him in whatever way I see fit" as Robson sat beside him showing no obvious sign of discomfort.

Subsequently, though, the Louth man seems to have felt this was all a bit too strong for in one of the many side briefings that followed the day's main press conference he sought to dilute his comments a little while making it clear the pair would discuss things over the coming week or two after which there may be room for a little trial and error.

"You're assuming he'll be here (Ireland) for the games," said Staunton, clearly reading the mind both of the journalist who had asked whether the former Newcastle and England boss would be in the dugout for matches and those of his many colleagues around him.

"He'll probably be sick of the sound of my voice from between games," he added before going on to make it clear he sees just about anything being possible from foreign scouting missions to taking training sessions.

To date then, it seems the pair have not got very far beyond a hunch that they respect and rather like each other as well as a belief they can work well together on that basis.

Both were deferential to the other with Staunton observing that if he could not learn a good deal "just from being around him, listening to him and his stories then I'm not the man for the job", while Robson repeatedly praised the younger man's career as a player and his performance in this, his first press conference as a manager.

Asked about the reign of his predecessor, Brian Kerr, Staunton declined to go into specifics about the failings of recent years although the references to morale, character and confidence suggested he shared his employers' assessment that the primary need was for greater motivation.

"We will certainly have a team that will be hungry, determined, one that will not go down without a fight . . . I'll make sure of that," he said.

Asked about what type of football he would aim to get the team playing he replied, with a laugh, that he would favour an approach that would "bamboozle the opposition".

It will be the end of next month before the new man gets his first opportunity to work with his squad on the training ground and then see up close what they can do when, on March 1st, they take on Sweden, but before then he confirmed he will seek to broaden his options on a couple of fronts.

He confirmed that some players who have retired in recent times - Steve Carr and Gary Kelly are the most obvious candidates even if he would not name names - will be approached about returning to the fold while a number of youngsters including the likes of 19-year-olds Stephen Ireland (Manchester City) and Joey O'Brien (Bolton Wanderers) will get the opportunity to stake claims in the senior squad.

"We're also going to look down the "granny rule", because I think that's vital for us," he said. "If we can get three or four, maybe five or six players then that would definitely benefit us. It something I feel very strongly about because my own children are English born and if anybody told me that they couldn't play for Ireland . . ."

The aim, he said, would be to make an impact on the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign although, he added quickly, "that doesn't mean we won't be ready for this one".

The draw for the European Championship groups will be made in Montreux on Friday week and when asked if he saw qualification as a realistic target he observed instead that nobody would want Ireland in their group as the fourth seeds.

Nothing, perhaps, better sums up the team's diminished status than the idea that the Republic will be regarded as no more than tricky also-rans.

As Staunton, like so many other new managers before conceded, however, "if things hadn't been bad recently I wouldn't be here."