John Delaney: Martin O’Neill is here to stay

FAI chief executive John Delaney is satisfied Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane are committed to seeing Ireland through the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign.

Delaney revealed yesterday that, following the verbal agreement on the eve of Euro 2016 to extend the management team’s contract, he now expects O’Neill will sign on the dotted line before the end of the month.

Asked if there was provision in the contract to cover the possibility of either man leaving should an alternative position in the game arise, the FAI boss said: “I wouldn’t go into specifics of contracts, I never do. All I know is the management team are committed to seeing the World Cup qualifiers through. We saw an example in the past, where Roy was asked to go to Aston Villa — which we agreed to at the time — and he has obviously come back to us without operating at another club.