FAI confirms O’Neill/Keane management appointments

It’s official. Martin O’Neill is the new Irish soccer manager and Roy Keane will be his assistant.
FAI Chief Executive John Delaney made the announcement this morning.
61-year-old O’Neill will appoint his own backroom team with the combined package likely to cost the FAI more than 2 million euro a year.
O’Neill’s appointment as Giovanni Trapattoni’s successor comes after a management career spanning more than 20 years, taking in spells in charge of Wycombe Wanderers, Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland.
Former Ireland Captain Roy Keane also managed at Sunderland between 2006 and 2008, before taking over at Ipswich Town in 2009.
He has been out of football since leaving his role as Ipswich boss in January 2011.
O’Neill and Keane will take charge for the Republic of Ireland’s friendlies against Latvia, on November 15th and against Poland on 19th November.
The appointments come eleven years to the day that Mick McCarthy left his role as Republic of Ireland manager.
John Delaney says Martin O’Neill will explain on Saturday at a press conference how the relationship between himself and Roy Keane will work.
“Martin is the manager and a manager uses an assistant in the way that he wants to do; so some managers use them in a very open way, others kind of say ‘these are your tasks'” he said.
“I think Martin O’Neill will explain that when he’s in on Saturday”.
“I know that have had detailed discussions, and I know that they’ve agreed what it will be – and it’ll be great when Martin explains to the public how he expects that dynamic to work” he added.