Stan expecting rocky ride

THE REPUBLIC of Ireland’s European Championship destiny will be clarified when the draw for the 2008 qualifying campaign is staged here today.

So yesterday was the last chance that new manager Steve Staunton had to speculate on all the possible permutations.

Having just checked into his hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva, the company he’d found himself sharing on the journey in from the airport had pushed one striking possibility to the forefront of his mind.