Mick McCarthy walked away from his job as manager of the Republic of Ireland, insisting he had no interest in whether or not Roy Keane would play for his country again.
Manchester United skipper Keane stated publicly he would never play for Ireland again while McCarthy was in charge, so now the door has opened for him to return in time for the team's next Euro 2004 qualifier in Georgia in March.
But whether or not he does, McCarthy said he would be losing no sleep over it. "You know something? It is no longer my problem," said McCarthy. "It doesn't interest me - it is the next guy's decision. The next person who takes over, it is his issue and his problem.
"I dealt with it as best I could and I only ever did what I thought was right. If you can say that about yourself in every job you have done, then you can walk away and be happy.
"There is no point being angry with anyone. I walk away with my head held high, my chin up and my chest out, and I think I am entitled to do that.
"It is not the Republic of Mick McCarthy and it is not the Republic of Roy Keane, and what is a little bit sad is that one of the best players in the world didn't play in the World Cup for whatever reasons.
"What is also a little bit sad is that the set of circumstances affected a guy who has done his best for Ireland always as a player and as a manager - and that is me. But we get on with it, onwards and upwards."
McCarthy will inevitably now look for a job in club management, and he admitted football was the only thing he knew.
"I don't know what comes next," said McCarthy. "Of course I shall think about club management, it is what I do and what I enjoy doing.
"I don't really know anything else, unless somebody is going to take me on as a 43-year-old centre back, which I doubt very much, so that will be the next step. But that is up to somebody else, I shall just wait and see what happens."
Don Givens, the manager or Ireland's Under-21s, will take charge of the senior team for the friendly in Greece on November 20th and the FAI expect to have a new manager in place before that vital clash in Georgia.
Joe Kinnear has emerged as the early favourite with the bookies and is one of several names who will be considered for what FAI treasurer John Delaney believes is still one of the best jobs in the business - and one which he said did not necessarily have to go to an Irishman.
"Whoever the new manager is will come into a group who have lost their first two games, so there are not going to be high expectations of him and he might be fortunate in that respect," said Delaney.
PA