Former Italian coach Giovanni Trappatoni has been confirmed as the new Republic of Ireland soccer boss after a protracted recruitment process handled by Don Givens, Ray Houghton and Don Howe.

ALL’S well ends well, was the message from Ireland legend, John Giles, when asked about the imminent appointment of Giovanni Trapattoni as the next Ireland manager last night.

DESPITE dropping three places to 35th in the latest FIFA world rankings, the Republic of Ireland will be third seeds in the World Cup 2010 draw in Durban tomorrow.

STEPHEN IRELAND has been released from international duty following the death of his grandmother and will not be available for Ireland’s European Championship qualifier against the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

WITH the Republic of Ireland in the mix as fourth seeds, the FAI delegation may be approaching today’s European Championship Group D fixture meeting in Frankfurt more in hope than expectation.

THE search for the new manager of the Republic of Ireland has begun in earnest with the first meeting of the FAI sub-committee which has been charged with scouting out contenders and making recommendations to the board.

AFTER 33 games in 33 months, Brian Kerr’s career as manager of the Republic of Ireland officially came to a halt last night, when FAI chief John Delaney announced that the search for a new Irish manager would begin today.