Delaney hints manager must make finals

FAI REACTION:THE IDENTITY of the Republic of Ireland's play-off opponents may not have been the only issue to be clarified for manager Giovanni Trapattoni in Krakow yesterday.

After the draw the FAI’s chief executive, John Delaney, seemed to suggest in the strongest terms yet the manager’s prospects of being offered a new contract by the association now hinge on the ability of his side to capitalise on what looks to be their best chance of making it to a major championships in a decade.

Speaking from Poland, Delaney first kicked the issue of the management team’s contractual situation to touch, insisting there would be no talks regarding the matter until the play-off games which, he observed, would be occupying everyone’s attention for the next few weeks.

Ultimately, though, he strongly hinted failure to qualify at this stage would in effect amount to coming up short.

“It’s always good to hear a manager say he’d like to stay,” he said. “But any discussions about a contract really should be left until post these matches. I would like to think everyone would be able to concentrate fully on getting us qualified against Estonia . It’s only four and a half weeks away and there’s going to be a huge build-up to these games, a lot of focus and a lot of discussion, and the most important is that it’s about football.

“I know that Giovanni and Marco want to qualify,” he continued. “Moral victories, getting to play-offs and not being successful is not what these guys do. I remember Paris and they weren’t happy for quite a while afterwards because they wanted to go to the World Cup. That’s what they’re used to doing.

“And from speaking to him today, he wants to win these two games to bring Ireland to a European Championship. That’s the objective and standard that we set and, more importantly, that he sets for himself.”

The more clearly-defined attitude is probably the one downside for Trapattoni of receiving such a favourable draw and of the other events that have gone his way in recent days.

Had Ireland only drawn on Tuesday night or had they won but still ended up missing out on a seeding because of results elsewhere there was a general sense that a decent performance against a strong team in the play-offs would, even if they ultimately lost, probably put him in a decent position as regards a new deal.

Now, however, Ireland look to be firmly in the driving seat and Trapattoni, it seems, must ensure they do not crash if he is to retain support of his employers or, one suspects, of the public at large.

Delaney, meanwhile, seemed broadly pleased to have secured 1,400 tickets for travelling supporters for the away leg, given the stadium only holds around 10,000.

“It won’t be sufficient but it will satisfy many of our hardcore supporters, who follow us everywhere,” he said. “It won’t be another Andorran situation in that regard.”