O'Brien intervened before Staunton was sacked

Businessman Denis O'Brien has revealed that he was involved in the process to find a new Republic of Ireland manager before Steve Staunton got the sack.

It emerged yesterday that Mr O'Brien has agreed to pay half the salary of new manager Giovanni Trapattoni and his first-team coach.

The FAI says this money was crucial to the hiring of the legendary Italian.

Speaking on TV3's Nightly News last night, Mr O'Brien said he first contacted the FAI before Staunton's exit.

He also said he would be open to providing more money if the FAI needed it to secure the services of Liam Brady as part of Trapattoni's back-room team.