O’Neill and Keane partnership to be confirmed early this week

Although a deal had still not been signed off as of last night, the FAI are entirely happy that Martin O’Neill will be unveiled as the manager of the Republic of Ireland this week.

While it’s believed the FAI would ideally like to be able to confirm the appointment before the Derryman and his assistant Roy Keane appear together on television tomorrow night as fellow panellists in ITV’s coverage of Manchester United’s game against Real Sociedad in the Champions League, they may have to wait until the pair return from Spain before the agreement can finally be confirmed.

However, sources insist that there are no fears of any last minute hiccups and have dismissed concerns that a possibly imminent change in management at either Fulham or Norwich could prompt O’Neill to change his mind.