So near and yet so far

THE FAI believed they had an 80% chance of persuading Roy Keane to rejoin the Irish squad when word came through that he had aborted all attempts to get him to Japan.

General secretary Brendan Menton flew back from Seoul in Korea to the squad base in Izumo, Japan, on Monday night as the FAI offered their support of Mick McCarthy’s attempt to extend an olive branch to Keane.