Drury: media intrusion may be Staunton's stumbling block

BRIAN KERR'S agent has predicted that Steve Staunton will prove to be a highly successful manager with the Republic of Ireland but has called on the FAI to give the Drogheda man more time and support than was offered to his client.

Staunton has made a favourable first impression on most of the media since his unveiling, but Fintan Drury saw Kerr's relations with the fourth estate plummet from similar giddy heights to rock bottom.

"The disappointment I have is not that Steve Staunton was appointed. I just don't believe that there should have been a vacancy," said Drury.

"I don't believe the support and time that people are quite correctly saying Steve Staunton must get was given to the previous incumbent in a fundamental and material way.

"I also believe that one of the issues which is going to have a fundamental influence over the potential for Steve and his team to be successful relates to the media. The level of intrusion by sections of the media in Ireland now has got to a level which, as a society, we need to challenge. It's particularly manifest in professional sport as well as other areas of Irish life as well."

Drury has known Staunton since 1990 when he was asked to advise the Irish squad on how to maximise their commercial opportunities arising from qualification from Italia 90.

A FIFA-licensed agent - the only man in Ireland with such status - Drury has also worked with the new Irish manager on an individual basis. He managed his transfer from Liverpool to Aston Villa back in 2000 and also handled his Irish testimonial game which was run jointly with Tony Cascarino.

Drury, who also acts as agent for Packie Bonner, Liam Miller and Wes Hoolohan, was full of praise for Staunton the player and Staunton the man, high praise from a man who describes the game as "corrupt" and "grubby."

"He is a man of tremendous depth and huge quality. His qualities as a player and his leadership qualities were obvious. He has all those qualities in abundance, Without exception, he is one of the most honourable and straightforward people that I have met in my 16 years involved in the professional game and all professional sport. He is quite an exceptional man.

"I wish that he wasn't in the position to be manager of the Irish team but that is just a matter of history now. Given that he is manager of the Irish team, I wish him every success. If I was a betting man I would say he might just get there because, as well as the other qualities, he has an inner steel which could be very important when it comes to that fine line between success and failure."

Staunton may only be in the job a matter of weeks but he has already impressed his employers, according to FAI chief executive John Delaney, who revealed that the new appointment has met with the universal approval of the players.

Given the reservations some of the squad had about Brian Kerr's appointment and his lack of exposure to top-level football in England specifically, that will come as welcome news as Ireland bid to qualify for Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

"The approach he's taken over the last period has impressed everybody in the FAI and outside it too," Delaney confirmed. "The players, I know, have been very happy with the appointment. That's something they've communicated to me."

The prospects of Staunton, or anyone else, leading out an All-Ireland team in the future would appear to be closer to nil than slim however, if Delaney's judgement on the matter is anything to go by.

"In terms of an all-island team and one association, that's very difficult to see, particularly in the short term. What I can see is using the Setanta Cup to progress things culturally through cross-community schemes and the like where kids from clubs are going up there or coming down here."

The Waterford man again spoke of his willingness to go with the concept of an all-island league if that was the wish of the Eircom League clubs and the players. Delaney said it would be perfectly feasible to have two associations - the FAI and IFA - even in the event that a 32-county league was formed.

"You can still have two associations and still have an all-island league. As regards the European spots, that could be worked out. It's about what the members want. If the clubs and the players wanted an all-island league then I wouldn't stand in the way of that.

"Last year we had six teams (in the Setanta Cup), this year we've expanded it to eight. Who knows where it will go?"

Damien Richardson, for one, believes that the Setanta Cup should be expanded to include Scottish clubs. The idea is not without precedent. Attempts were made some years ago to organise a pan-European league made up of teams from countries like Scotland, the Low Countries and Portugal.

"What I would like to see is a much more serious competition, maybe one that would last throughout the season and with European qualification from it which would make it even more attractive," said the Cork City manager.

"I would like to see the Setanta Cup encompass Scottish teams as well, to become a Celtic Cup. That would bring in more glamour, newer teams. It would add an international dimension to it and would make it more attractive again for TV."