Time for Stan to go but FAI must share responsibility

ON a human level, you had to feel for Steve Staunton on Wednesday night.

Interviewed on television immediately after the narrow escape against Cyprus, the Ireland manager looked extremely emotional — full up, to use a childhood phrase — with his voice on the point of breaking once or twice.

That was easy to understand. The late late show from Steve Finnan had certainly kept the guillotine suspended for another day or two, but it didn’t stop the jeering of the crowd. Twelve months on from a vocal display of disapproval in Nicosia, the Irish fans again let the manager know what they thought as he left the Croke Park pitch last Wednesday.