‘I can walk away with my head held high’

MICK McCARTHY, who stepped down last night as Republic of Ireland manager, said he was not pushed out of the job.

"It was my decision and my decision only," he insisted. "I've not been axed or pushed. I said after the last game that if some of the stuff going on surrounding my presence was affecting the performances, I'd consider my position.

"I wasn't going to resign immediately after the game, that would have been a knee-jerk reaction, so I went away and thought about it but my opinion never changed. But I walk away happy, because I always gave my best, and if you can say that, then you can walk away with your head held high," McCarthy said.

Meanwhile, David O'Leary has ruled himself out of the running but John Aldridge said he would seriously consider taking over from Mick McCarthy as Republic of Ireland manager.

The former Liverpool striker played for the national team in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups before managing Tranmere, a club he guided to a Worthington Cup final and an FA Cup semi-final before resigning last March.

"I've always stated when I was managing Tranmere that I would be delighted to manage my country and it is a fantastic job for anyone to be associated with," Aldridge said last night.

"A lot of good managers will put their name forward so we will have to wait and see," he said.

"I know all the lads very well indeed but I don't really want to push myself forward and plug myself now I'll do it in the right manner when the time is right."

Other contenders include Joe Kinnear and John Toshack.

McCarthy's reign as Republic of Ireland manager, a post he had held since 1996, ended yesterday after he agreed a compensation package with the Football Association of Ireland.

While his contract was not due to expire until February 2004 his position had been under threat after his high-profile bust-up with former Ireland captain Roy Keane, which saw the Manchester United midfielder sent home early from the World Cup.

The pressure for his resignation built with defeats in Ireland's opening Euro 2004 qualifiers against Russia and Switzerland.

Yesterday, Eamon Dunphy, the ghost-writer of Roy Keane's controversial autobiography, claimed McCarthy only had himself to blame.

Dunphy said it was up to McCarthy to solve the dispute with Keane.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he was sorry to see McCarthy go. He said he had done a lot for soccer in Ireland and hoped he would get a managerial job in the English Premiership.