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Steve Staunton
Birth Date: Jan 19 1969
Birth Place: Drogheda
Birth Nation: Republic of Ireland
Height: 185cm
Weight: 81kg
Nationality: Republic of Ireland
Position: Defender
Steve Staunton Rumours and Transfers 24 10 2007 The Football Association of Ireland will hire independent advisers to assist in the selection of Steve Staunton's successor as Ireland manager after chief executive John Delaney acknowledged that a board of administrators such as themselves were not ideally suited to making such appointments.
Staunton's contract was terminated by mutual consent in the early hours of this morning following an emergency board meeting. The decision followed Ireland's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, but many fans had been critical of Staunton's appointment from day one, criticising the FAI for naming a man with no previous managerial experience.
Delaney defended that decision today, pointing to the fact Sir Bobby Robson had also been appointed to assist Staunton, but he also admitted the process for appointments should, in general, be left to the professionalis.
"The appointment was made in good faith, obviously Stephen was appointed with Sir Bobby Robson," said Delaney. "Obviously for whatever reason it hasn't worked out. I think by moving to a process where we will appoint people who are vested in the game in a professional capacity to make the next appointment, it is recognition that that's the way forward for the association at this stage."
When it was put to Delaney that it was recognition that the decision about who to appoint should be made by football professionals rather than FAI administrators, he said: "That's a fair point, yes."
An FAI statement released earlier in the morning read: "The FAI board will now seek to appoint an outside adviser from within the football industry to assist them in the recruitment of a successor. The board will select people with considerable football experience in the professional game to appoint the new manager."
The Under-21 boss Don Givens will manage the Ireland team in their final Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales next month, while Delaney confirmed there should be news on the appointment of the FAI's advisers in the next seven to 10 days.
"Stephen was fantastic as a player for his country and in terms of doing the role as manager certainly did his best," added Delaney. "I'm disappointed that it didn't work out, no question about that, I'm happy that everything finished amicably tonight and it was done by mutual consent and I hope to see him succeed in the future."
Association president David Blood thanked Staunton and his staff for their efforts and said: "They have brought through many young players and leave behind a squad with strong development potential. As a member of the three-man committee which made the recommendation to appoint Stephen and his team, I am disappointed that things have not worked out the way I, Stephen or my colleagues on the board expected."
24 10 2007 David O'Leary has been installed as the early favourite to succeed Steve Staunton as Republic of Ireland manager.
O'Leary has been out of work since parting company with Aston Villa in July 2006.
He was a favourite among the Irish fans during his playing days, but has endured mixed fortunes as a manager in England.
Other names being linked with the vacant Irish job include Roy Hodgson, Graeme Souness, Stephen Kenny and Don Givens.
15 10 2007 Darron Gibson's international future could become clearer on Monday.
The 19-year-old Manchester United player is currently at the centre of a dispute between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The Derryman played for NI at underage level before switching to the Republic and he earned a full cap in last month's Euro 2008 qualifer in Slovakia.
The Irish FA and Football Association of Ireland will make submissions to Fifa on the issue in Zurich on Monday.
The IFA says that Fifa rules make clear that Gibson should not be allowed to play for the Republic because niether the player, nor his parents or his grandparents were born south of the border.
However, the FAI insists that the player is qualified to play for the Republic under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement which states that anybody born in Northern Ireland is entitled to Irish citizenship.
Gibson earned his first Republic cap in the friendly win over Denmark in August.
The Derryman was a late call-up for that game by Steve Staunton after Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthington had revealed that he was trying to persuade the player to switch allegiance from the Republic.
Gibson played for Northern Ireland U16s but then opted for the Republic.
Since then, the Derryman has earned U17, U19, U21 and his two full caps for the Republic.
Gibson is currently injured so he is not on duty for the Republic in this week's Euro 2008 qualifiers or the European Under-21 Championship.
11 10 2007 Richard Dunne wants to see compatriot and club team-mate Stephen Ireland back in a green shirt in time for Ireland's final trip of the campaign to Wales.
Dunne was speaking to reporters in the light of Ireland's withdrawal from Steve Staunton's squad, claiming that he could not "do himself or his country justice" on Tuesday.
However, Dunne is hoping his absence from the camp is a short one given his recent form.
"As far as I know Stephen has a couple of problems in his life and he feels that having 10 days away from home isn't the right thing at the moment," Dunne said.
"It's disappointing for us because he's the one who has been scoring the goals lately for the international team and he is a very important player. Hopefully it is just this trip that he misses. If he can get himself worked out then it would probably be worth it in the long run."
The defender also reiterated that the entire squad would welcome his return to the fold at any stage and that they understood his reasons for missing the clash with the Czech Republic.
"His girlfriend had a miscarriage the last time and no-one is going to take the mickey out of him over something that serious," he continued.
"We all want to be part of a team that is successful and as a group of players we know that Stephen is a very good player who could make the team better, so if and when he does come back he will be welcomed back. Hopefully something will just click for him and we can move on from there. The quicker he comes back, the quicker the whole situation is forgotten about. While he's not here people are going to speak about him and it will be 'what if?' and 'why not?' So the quicker he comes back the quicker the press will stop writing stories about him and he won't feel so uncomfortable."
The Manchester City stalwart's thoughts were echoed by Steve Finnan.
'(Stephen) has done very well and could have a bright future, but he has got a situation he has to deal with and it would be good if he could do it quickly and get back in the squad," the Liverpool man added.
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