Tardelli in the dark at FAI’s plans for pay cut

MARCO TARDELLI says that FAI boss John Delaney has said nothing to him about qualification targets or further pay cuts as prerequisites to a new contract for himself and Giovanni Trapattoni.

The assistant manager, speaking in Malahide before the Irish panel flew out to Moscow yesterday, was responding to some reports which claimed the FAI were edging toward new contracts for the Irish management team provided Ireland attain at least a qualification play-off place in the current Euro 2012 campaign.

The reports also said that the FAI was considering halving the wages of the management team — which, until now, have been partly funded by businessman Denis O’ Brien — from €2.5m to €1.5m.

But yesterday Marco Tardelli strongly indicated that this was all news to him.

“I spoke with John Delaney two or three days ago and he never told me about this,” he said. “For me, it’s speculation. Also we have already taken cuts in our contracts.”

Asked if he would have a problem taking another pay cut, Tardelli replied with a smile, “Not too much.”

But when a reduction of 50% was quoted to him, Tardelli seemed genuinely taken aback.

“Perhaps, I don’t understand well in English,” he said, “but John Delaney didn’t talk to me about that.”

Tardelli said that “many times” he and Trapattoni have spoken with John Delaney and the FAI board about the possibility of staying on in the Irish job and he took the opportunity to reiterate yesterday that the Italian duo want to do so.

But when the idea of a minimum target of a play-off place was put to him, Tardelli responded: “We don’t have any such targets. We spoke with John Delaney two or three days. If the board want me and Giovanni to stay here, it’s okay. But there is nothing to be discussed at this moment.”

An FAI source later suggested that the recent conversation between Tardelli and Delaney was an informal discussion and not part of a scheduled meeting.