O’Neill looks set to stay in Irish role

All the signs are that Martin O’Neill is staying on as manager of Ireland.

Official confirmation has not been forthcoming, however, as the Derry man declined to comment on this week’s reports linking him to the Stoke City manager’s job when he attended the SSE Airticity/Soccer Writers of Ireland annual awards banquet in Dublin last night.

The FAI were also making no comment so there was no further clarity about if and when the verbal agreement with O’Neill to stay on — announced as far back as October — would be officially signed and sealed.