Managerial stakes may not be one-horse race

All the signs may indicate that the appointment of Martin O’Neill as the new Republic of Ireland manager is imminent but, until the deal is done, the FAI will be wary of placing all their eggs in one basket.

While Mick McCarthy, the man widely considered to be O’Neill’s main rival for the post, suggested yesterday that the Derryman already effectively had the job, the former Ireland manager and skipper didn’t explicitly rule himself out of contention should the expected O’Neill appointment fail to materialise.

A measure of McCarthy’s good standing with the FAI is that had Giovanni Trapattoni been sacked after the 6-1 defeat to Germany last October, it’s believed the association was ready to turn to the Ipswich Town boss at that point. In the event, a 4-1 win in the Faroe Islands was enough for the Board of Management to confound media expectation and keep the Italian in his job.