Trap admits end is nigh

Giovanni Trapattoni accepts that his days as manager of Ireland are numbered.

The Italian is still holding out hope for the sequence of improbable results which would be required to reopen Ireland’s route to a World Cup play-off place, after qualification dreams were left dangling by the slenderest thread in the wake of the devastating 2-1 loss to Sweden at the Aviva Stadium on Friday.

But even if the miraculous materialises, the Italian now concedes this campaign will be his last as Irish manager.