Interim manager Noel King will not be considered for the Republic of Ireland job on a permanent basis, according to FAI chief executive John Delaney.
The FAI appointed King as caretaker boss for the World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan later this month, but a permanent replacement for Giovanni Trapattoni has yet to be identified.
The Italian was sacked last month after defeat to Austria in Vienna left Ireland with little or no hope of qualification for Brazil 2014, but if King were to achieve a dramatic reversal of fortunes with maximum points from the remaining two games, he will not be in the running to take up the position full time.
“Noel has stepped in at the right time for us, but he knows that he won’t be considered for the job going forward,” said Delaney today.
“However, he has approached the role of interim boss with great professionalism and is looking to forward to the upcoming games. First up is the game against Germany and they don’t get much tougher than that. He has done great work for us at under-21 level and coaching at all other levels and has been a great ambassador for the FAI.”
King yesterday revealed his first senior squad and included Andy Reid, Darron Gibson and Anthony Stokes, three players exiled under Trapattoni. Their presence will save the new manager the headache of having to sound out their interest in returning, after each fell out of with the Italian at different stages of his five-year tenure.
Delaney hopes the new man will be in place before Christmas but says the association is prepared to wait if needs be.
"The ambition is to have an appointment this side of Christmas - to have everything done and dusted by then," Delaney told RTÉ. "That's our clear objective. Having a new manager in place will ensure that we approach the new year with greater hope and optimism ahead of the draw for the Euro 2016 qualifiers in February.
“However if the right person becomes available, but they can’t start until a certain time, then that’s the way it will be played out.”
