Hunt on for Staunton's successor

Steve Staunton's agent will turn his attention to securing a new job for the former Republic of Ireland manager but has admitted his client could soon speak out about his national team exit.

Staunton's 21-month reign was ended in a meeting with the Football Association of Ireland's management board that went on into the small hours of this morning.

Past managers like Jack Charlton, Johnny Giles and Mick McCarthy could be approached to work as consultants in the recruitment process along with former star Liam Brady, who has expressed a surprise interest in taking the job himself despite holding the prestigious position of Academy Director at Arsenal.

Republic officials, led by chief executive John Delaney, appear embarrassed over the way Staunton, appointed with no previous experience as a manager, has been perceived as a flop because he was their firm choice to take over from an even lower-profile appointment, Brian Kerr, in January last year.

Asked whether the decision to now consult 'people with a vested knowledge of the international game' is an admittance that he and his colleagues had again got it wrong, Delaney admitted: 'It's a good point.'

Staunton's departure could cost the FAI up to €1.4million in compensation as he still had more than two years left on his contract as well as appointed members of his own backroom staff who will leave along with him.

The Drogheda-born former left-back, who earned a record 102 Republic caps and was also a stalwart of club football in England, was a coach under manager Paul Merson at Walsall when he was appointed by the FAI.

Staunton may yet heap more embarrassment on his former employers but his agent Gary Keating said: 'Stan is keeping his head down at the moment and the next important thing for me is where he goes next.

'But it could be that he will want to speak about the situation soon.'

Staunton, 39, fought to keep his job and was in a long 'emergency' meeting with Delaney and other leading officials while media representatives scoured the Irish capital in search of the 'secret' venue of the showdown on Tuesday night.

But the FAI are likely to be in no hurry to name a successor. Expectation of the Republic team reached has been high since Charlton's reign between 1986 and 1995 when the former England hero, who pipped former Liverpool chief Bob Paisley in a narrow vote for the job, took them to two World Cup finals in Italy and the United States and a European finals in Germany.

The successors to Charlton, now 72, have always suffered by comparison - even Mick McCarthy who reached the 2002 World Cup finals had to battle through tough times and a hostile press.

Now former Aston Villa and Leeds manager David O'Leary has been installed as favourite on the grounds that he is Irish, available and has plenty of experience in management. He has not worked since leaving Villa Park in July last year and would relish a return.

He fits the 'big name' bill that Irish fans are crying out for after the appointments of Staunton and Kerr. And he would command the fans' and players' respect, but a source in Dublin told The Times newspaper 'there appears no hunger to appoint him'.

Former Ireland captain Kevin Moran, and John Aldridge and Paul Jewell who had impressive management spells at Tranmere and Wigan respectively, may also be in the frame to lead the Republic into the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

But apart from Charlton and Scotsman Doug Henderson - whose two year spell from 1951 did not include him selecting the team - the FAI have always appointed an manager with firm Irish roots.

Don Givens, the long-serving under-21 manager, will act as caretaker for the senior squad in the final European qualifying match against Wales in Cardiff on November 17. Givens performed the same role five years ago before Kerr took over from Mick McCarthy.

Pat Devlin stays on as B team manager - they face a clash with Scotland B at Airdrie on November 20.