CONFIRMATION is expected within the next week that the Republic of Ireland will play in north Africa in February as part of their preparations for the resumption of their World Cup programme.

A trip to Morocco in February is still the most likely option but the possibility of a game against Egypt, the first between the countries since their meeting, during the 1990 World Cup finals, has not been wholly dismissed.

Ideally, Mick McCarthy would have preferred to play in Dublin, but because of a clause in their contract with the IRFU, Lansdowne Road is not normally available to the FAI for a home game in February.

There was a school of thought that European opposition would have been preferable but most of the leading teams are already committed to fixtures at that stage of the season.

Traditionally, February has been a notoriously difficult month for international managers to assemble strong squads and McCarthy is aware that the assignment could eventually deteriorate into an exercise in improvisation.

It would still afford him the chance of looking at some of the players on the fringe of his first team and a couple more, Paul McGrath and David Connolly who have been precluded from the forthcoming game against Iceland on fitness grounds.

In leaving McGrath out of his squad of 20 on Tuesday, the manager indicated that he could yet have an important role to play in the second half of the World cup qualifying programme. In that context he may welcome the chance of settling him back into the side in a relatively low key setting.

The same can be said of Connolly, hugely successful during the end of season programme but prevented by injury from building on that promise in any of the three competitive games in the current campaign.

Steve Finnan, named on Tuesday in the squad for the European Under 21 championship game against Iceland at Dalymount Park on November 9th, has moved from Birmingham City to Notts County for £300,000.

It is now expected that the appointment of a successor to Bernard O'Byrne as the FAI's Honorary Treasurer, will be made at a meeting on November 25th.

The post, a key one in the administrative structure of the association, has been vacant since O'Byrne resigned to become chief executive last month.

Brendan Menton Jnr, who served as acting chief executive for a number of months, is thought to be one of the front runners for the position and other candidates may include Fergus McArdle and David Blood.