Caretaker boss Don Givens will be in charge of the Republic of Ireland side that takes on Brazil in Croke Park next month regardless of whether a new manager is appointed in the meantime.
Announcing his squad last evening, Givens said that the new man could be in place but that it would be "unfair" to ask him to take charge of a squad he did not select.
That squad will include Damien Duff for the first time since the 1-0 Croke Park win over Slovakia in March last year and Blackburn Rovers midfielder Steven Reid, who pulled out of the final Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales having just returned from injury.
Once again, however, it will not include Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland, who has not been part of a squad since excusing himself from the away trip to the Czech Republic in September by falsely claiming that his grandmother had died.
If the midfielder has ambitions of playing for his country again he'll be hoping the new manager is more sympathetic to his plight than Givens, who appears to have lost patience with the 21-year-old's reluctance to play ball.
"I don't think that any kid his age should need to be cajoled into playing for his country", said Givens, who added that the association has "bent over backwards" for him and that he had not interest in "humiliating" himself by going Manchester to ask him to come back.
Instead, said Givens, it is up to the player to get in touch and confirm that he is ready to return to international football.
Givens, who heads the three-man recruitment panel charged with finding a new manager, added that he, Ray Houghton and Don Howe are not worried about the length of time the process is taking and suggested that the media is rushing the process to fill column inches. It has been three months since Stephen Staunton was sacked by the association.
"The three of us haven't found it that difficult because we live in England," said Givens. "I have a feeling that the panic and hysteria is basically caused by the media."
The Ireland under-21 manager said the impatience voiced by some senior players, like goalkeeper Shay Given and defender Richard Dunne, was not worrying him, but admitted it would have been better to have the new manager in the fixture negotiations in Bulgaria last week.
"When I see those quotes in the paper I imagine it wasn't the player that phoned the journalist, the journalist phoned the player and the quote comes out
"Of course it would have been ideal if the manager was there, but I've got to say, I was there at the meeting and with our hands being tied, with the dates we had and the Croke Park situation, I'm not sure any manager could have got more given what we were fighting with."
Given added: "If the new manager is named he won't be involved in the Brazil game, for the simple reason that it would be unfair . . . but I would hope he would be in Croke Park as a very interested spectator."
Andy Reid is also in the squad despite being an injury concern but Clinton Morrison has omitted despite scoring 13 goals this season. Instead, Sunderland's Daryl Murphy is named among the strikers along with captain Robbie Keane and the Reading pair of Kevin Doyle and Shane Long, who missed the Wales game through suspension.
Another striker to miss out is Sunderland's Anthony Stokes, who is instead named in the under-21 squad for the European qualifier against England the night before.
Leeds United midfielder Jonathan Douglas was not considered owing to injury while Liverpool defender Steve Finnan announced his international retirement earlier this week.
Givens hopes full-back Finnan can be persuaded to change his mind because for him he was a definite starter against Brazil and his departure was a "big blow" for Irish football.
A limited number of tickets for the game will go on sale through Ticketmaster tomorrow, Friday, January 25, at 9am. Tickets can only be purchased by logging on to www.ticketmaster.ieorby phoning 0818 719 300. Tickets are limited to six per person. For further information please visit www.fai.ie
Rep of Ireland squad: Shay Given (Newcastle United), Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe United), Colin Doyle (Birmingham City), Stephen Kelly (Birmingham City), John O'Shea (Manchester United), Andy O'Brien (Bolton Wanderers), Joey O'Brien (Bolton Wanderers), Kevin Kilbane (Wigan Athletic), Richard Dunne (Manchester City), Paul McShane (Sunderland), Lee Carsley (Everton), Andy Reid (Charlton Athletic), Steven Reid (Blackburn Rovers), Aiden McGeady (Celtic), Stephen Hunt (Reading), Liam Miller (Sunderland), Damien Duff (Newcastle United), Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotstpur), Kevin Doyle (Reading), Shane Long (Reading), Daryl Murphy (Sunderland).
