MARTIN O'NEILL is still sorting out the finer points of a deal that will see him unveiled as Republic of Ireland manager on Saturday.
The 61-year-old continued talks over the telephone with the FAI last night from Spain, where he is on duty for ITV tonight ahead of Manchester United’s Champions League clash with Real Sociedad.
There were suggestions that the deal might have been sealed last night ahead of his TV appearance but that has not come to pass.
Speaking today FAI CEO John Delaney said, 'Detailed discussions with Martin and Roy are advanced.We hope to have things signed by Saturday'
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) November 5, 2013
Despite this, neither side see any possibility of anything going seriously wrong at this stage.
O’Neill’s expected assistant, Roy Keane, is also in San Sebastian for ITV and it is believed that some of the talks involve thrashing out how their Irish managerial partnership will work.
Dream Team: O'Neill and Keane both currently work for ITVThe designation of roles within a back-room team comprising O’Neill’s long-time coaching team of coaches Steve Walford, Steve Guppy and goalkeeping expert Seamus McDonagh, is also bein thrashed out
The combined package is set to cost the FAI over £1.8m a year.
O'Neill and Keane have a limited window of time to adjust to their new positions, with decisions to be made ahead of the forthcoming friendlies with Latvia (November 15) and Poland (19).
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.
