There are no easy draws for Irish football

Somewhere back in the mists, around about the time Giovanni Trapattoni was finally hitting the wall as Ireland manager, a cosy consensus took hold that whoever replaced the Italian was bound to have not just a better time of it, but an easier time of it.

After all, it was long since known that Euro 2016 would be an expanded tournament of 24 teams, meaning that the qualification process would allow countries finishing third a back-door chance to still make the promised land of France.

So when a fourth-place finish to qualifying for the last World Cup meant that both Brazil and Trap were finally off the agenda, all thoughts promptly turned to the sunnier uplands which would surely lie in wait for his successor. And when he/they turned out to be the box office superstar double act of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane, why, optimism levels practically hit the stratosphere, the camper vans already being oiled and the sat nav set for the green fields of France.