Staunton losing grip on Irish job

Steve Staunton vowed to resist renewed calls for him to quit after the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign petered out in an embarrassing Croke Park draw with Cyprus.

However, it appears at this stage that the man who won 102 caps for the Republic will lose his job as Ireland manager in the near future.

This evening, FAI chief executive John Delaney said that any decision on Staunton's future would have to be decided by the   board of the association.

Delaney added that this will be discussed over the next few days.

Only Steve Finnan's injury-time equaliser rescued the Republic from one of the most humiliating home defeats in their history, and Staunton was blunt in his appraisal of his side's performance.

'It is just not good enough,' admitted Staunton, and that is also a charge being made against his reign.

But with two years left on his four-year contract, Staunton has promised to fight on.

He said: 'I've been given the job and I'm going to see it through. It wasn't good enough in the first half. It got a little bit better in the second half but even in the second half it wasn't good enough.'

Staunton's men missed some chances, with Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle coming close, but the Cypriots also threatened and when Stelios Okkarides struck with 10 minutes to go Croke Park erupted in disapproval.

At that point it looked like the visitors were going to build on their stunning 5-2 win over the Republic a year ago.

Finnan's equaliser saved a bit of face and was followed by Marios Ilia's sending-off, apparently for spitting.

Staunton, who has been accused of being prickly and unapproachable during his tenure, expressed his feelings eloquently, and said the supporters had every right to greet the final whistle with jeers.

He said: 'I felt sorry for them (the fans). It didn't happen tonight. We didn't pass the ball, we didn't get get hold of it and we didn't mark. We didn't do anything tonight and we got out of jail.

'I'm not putting any spin on tonight. It's just not good enough and they know that. But I've got to give them credit for their spirit and to score a goal in the last minute at least shows they have got a bit of character about them.'

Staunton added: 'It will get better when we get a full-strength squad and when it does happen we'll have a good nucleus to go forward.'