RONNIE WHELAN'S application to become the new manager of the Republic of Ireland team was put on hold yesterday after a planned meeting with FAI officials in London had been postponed. It followed their failure to contact the chairman of Whelan's club Southend United for permission to interview their player manager.
Similar requests were rejected last week by Blackburn Rovers Leeds United and Everton to pre empt the candidatures of Kenny Dalglish, Howard Wilkinson and Joe Royle respectively but clearly the FAI do not anticipate such difficulties in Whelan's case.
Sean Connolly, the FAI's chief executive, said: "It's a question of maintaining diplomatic courtesies and being seen to do the right thing. But in this instance I would expect that we will be meeting with Ronnie Whelan early next week."
Five candidates, Mick McCarthy, Joe Kinnear, Liam Brady, Mike Walker and Dave Bassett, were interviewed in London on Wednesday and the signs are that at least two of them will be invited to a second session in Dublin next week.
Kinnear, who yesterday appeared to be hedging his bets after intimating that he wished to have the job specifications clarified, is likely to be one of them, and McCarthy is the other obvious contender.
The unspoken fear among those interviewed was that the FAI may be operating from a hidden agenda, but this was again emphatically denied by Connolly yesterday.
Asked to comment on whether there was another candidate for the job waiting in the wings, Connolly said: "That is untrue. The only people in the running for the position are those who have already been named."
The new manager may be headed for an early examination in public relations after the disclosure that Ireland are to play an additional end of season game.
It has been confirmed that Croatia will play in Dublin for the first time on either June 1st or 2nd as part of their preparations for the European Championship finals in England later that month. The Croatians intend to set up camp in this country and in addition to the international fixture, may meet Dundalk in a charity game at Oriel Park.
With a game against Holland already arranged for Rotterdam on June 4th and three games in the US Cup scheduled between June 9th and June 16th, it means that the national team will play five games in the space of just 16 days in June.
Traditionally, players have baulked at the physical demands of end of season games and they will not be amused to discover that they are now required to play an extra game. It is understood that the point was put to those interviewed in London and, predictably enough perhaps, all expressed approval on the basis that it will provide an ideal stage for experimentation.
As things stand, there is an interval of just 48 hours between the home against Croatia and the match in Holland but Connolly indicated yesterday that they may seek to bring forward the Croatian game to Saturday June 1st or alternatively seek a 24 hour postponement of the Dutch fixture.
It was announced yesterday that Norway have withdrawn from the US Cup and will be replaced by Bolivia. Mexico and the host country complete the line up for the tournament. The FAI are still awaiting confirmation of venues for their three games.
