Mick quiet on Keane revelations

The latest revelations over Roy Keane’s amazing World Cup bust-up with Mick McCarthy were greeted with a stony silence from the Republic of Ireland manager today.

McCarthy has told friends he is determined not to be drawn into a response to Keane’s continuing jibes which are featured in the Manchester United star’s autobiography currently being serialised in The Times.

And FAI press officer Brendan McKenna said: “The feeling among the officials seems to be that we want to put some distance between ourselves and this issue.”

McCarthy, who has been accused by Keane of not employing positive enough tactics to beat Spain in the second round after Jose Camacho’s side had been reduced to 10 men for the entire period of extra-time, has pledged to make no further comment whatsoever.

Certainly it will strengthen his pledge that there is no way he will have Keane back in the Ireland squad which means at least two more years – the length of McCarthy’s current contract – in the international wilderness for the 31-year-old midfield ace.

Unsurprisingly, Keane has also said he will never play for Ireland again while McCarthy is in charge but if the manager leaves for a club job the midfielder will look at the situation again.

This, though, would put the pressure firmly on the FAI who have also been the butt of Keane’s criticism. It would look a huge insult to McCarthy if Keane was ever allowed to return under any Ireland manager.

The FAI said after the World Cup that a full-scale investigation into Keane’s walk-out following the row with McCarthy would be held but there has never been much danger of McCarthy not keeping the reins for the Euro 2004 qualifying programme and the finals in Portugal should Ireland get there.

Ireland visit Finland in Helsinki a week on Wednesday, in their only warm-up before the opening qualifier against Russia in Moscow next month.

McCarthy is determined to focus everything on that rather than go over all the old ground of the Roy Keane affair.