Kerr is gone in 60 seconds

SOCCER/Cyprus v Ireland:  Less than three years ago, as Brian Kerr answered every question an excited bunch of local sports hacks could think of at the Shelbourne Hotel, there was a moment when the Republic of Ireland supremo thanked them for their support before noting, as he wrapped up proceedings, that he knew things would not always be so rosy.

As he continued his preparations yesterday for the games against Cyprus and Switzerland that will decide his immediate future, we had clearly reached the point he had anticipated that afternoon back in January 2003.

With the team's training session at Malahide United's ground out of the way, the Ireland manager was talking again after Tuesday's ill-judged decision to cancel the day's meeting with the press.

His pitch-side briefing on the latest state of players' injuries within the squad lasted only fractionally over a minute, however, prompting some wag in the press corps to observe that we have a manager who goes from nought to 60 in just over 24 hours.

The tone of Kerr's delivery was one of forced chirpiness with the manager informing journalists, who were due to fly out with the team yesterday, that he was in a hurry as he had a plane to catch. His sense of agitation was barely disguised and it was a little hard to believe how someone whose handling of the media had been viewed as another one of his many gifts a few years back could have allowed things to slip so quickly.

Two wins in the next six days and Kerr could find himself sitting across the table from the same bunch of journalists for at least the next two years.

Clearly stung by the speculation over whether he can survive the end of this campaign, however, it would appear that that aspect of the job is the one the Dubliner will relish less than ever after a spell in which several papers have been freely speculating about the identity of his successor.

Anything less than six points from these two games, meanwhile, and things are sure to go from bad to much worse as the 52-year-old finds himself at the mercy of administrators, some of whom he has had precious little time for over the years, while a much extended media pack gathers to scrutinise what would be widely expected to be his last days in the job.

Kerr knows at least that the two wins he is aiming to secure have the potential to pave the way to qualification which, in turn, would make him bullet proof.

In the event that Ireland finish the campaign on 19 points they could still top Group Four but a place in the play-offs would look a more likely bet.

If he could get through those, then Merion Square will be obliged to provide its very public backing and those among the media, who he believes to have overstepped the mark in recent weeks, may find themselves having to don sackcloth and ashes before accompanying a rejuvenated Ireland manager to Germany next summer.

As he demonstrates every time he talks about a player he first happened upon in an under-14 match, after all, Brian Kerr, has a very long memory.

In the meantime, a great deal will depend on how a somewhat understrength Ireland team performs in Cyprus where a big win - either in terms of style or scoreline - could set the tone for next Wednesday's game at Lansdowne Road.

With Roy Keane, Andy Reid and Clinton Morrison out, Kerr is likely to play Graham Kavanagh and, most likely, Stephen Elliott, who partnered Robbie Keane throughout the practice match at the end of yesterday morning's session. One possible replacement for Andy Reid on the right side of midfield, Steven Reid, sat most of training out with a slight ankle injury but there was better news in relation to Liverpool's Steve Finnan who came through without any apparent difficulty. "I expected Steve to train this morning although I didn't expect him to do as much as he did in the end," said Kerr.

Despite the defensive nature of his game the 29-year-old now looks the front-runner to start his first competitive game in an Ireland shirt since the draw in Tel Aviv back in March.

Nicky Colgan joined the squad before departure for Cyprus yesterday after Barnsley's game with Rotherham was belatedly called off while Stephen Carr also sat out training due to soreness caused by a knock sustained in Newcastle's game over the weekend with Portsmouth. The right back is expected to train again.

However, Gary Breen, it was confirmed, is out of Saturday's game. "He's stayed behind in Sunderland for further treatment," said Kerr. "He may join up with us on Sunday although we'll see how he is between now and then."