Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane have been confirmed as the new manager and assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland. FAI CEO John Delaney revealed one of the worst kept secrets just after 11am this morning that O'Neill and Keane are the men charged with leading the Boys in Green to Euro 2016. Both men are pundits for ITV tonight on the Manchester United v Real Sociedad game in San Sebastian.
The FAI moved to confirm the news before they appeared on TV. The rest of the management team has yet to be confirmed but the combined package is set to cost the FAI over €2m a year. O'Neill and Keane have a limited window of time to settle in with decisions to be made ahead of the friendlies with Latvia and Poland.
The Ireland squad are due to assemble in Portmarnock on Sunday evening – but players have yet to be informed if they made the final cut. First up is Latvia at the Aviva on Friday week. Delaney said this morning "I don't see any impediment to the appointment." He also said he'd have no problem working with Keane again, despite the history between the two and Saipan in particular in 2002.
He went on to say "we met twice last week and it was all about the future ... the past is the past. The Roy Keane I met last week impressed me. "Please God, with this appointment, we'll make Irish football great again." The FAI chief said that Keane was Martin O'Neill's choice as No.2.
The combined package is set to cost the FAI over €2m a year, with businessman Denis O'Brien once again contributing to the funding. However, John Delaney declined to comment on the cost. O'Neill and Keane are expected to give a press conference on Saturday.
The rest of the management team will be confirmed at the weekend. O'Neill and Keane don't have long to settle in - the first friendly is against Latvia on the 15th of November and then they're away to Poland four days later.
Below is John Delaney speaking about the appointment of Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane
