Mick McCarthy says that the Republic's World Cup qualification means that he can now be considered the equal of Jack Charlton. "It was great to get to the World Cup in 1990 when I was a player under Jack Charlton, but it feels better getting there as a manager. I was injured in 1989 when we beat Malta to qualify. I was in the crowd watching then. But now it is my team on the field, my players, my tactics, my ideas.
"I know the guy who will be happiest for me - big Jack. I had a message from him before the first game against Iran and I now look forward to meeting him again and having a pint with him.
"And finally I can drink with him as an equal. We've both qualified for the World Cup. When I got his job five years ago, I always knew how tough it would be following him. I always said that the man who came in after the man who followed Jack would be getting the ideal job," said the Republic of Ireland manager.
McCarthy's current contract with the FAI is up in February, but he insists that he will concentrate on the job in hand. Top Premiership clubs who have been monitoring his situation would easily be able to top his current wages which are understood to be around £170,000 a year.
"My job is not an issue. I'm looking forward to the World Cup but I might be here for a long time after that. My contract runs to February and I want to sit down and talk with the FAI, but I'm not forcing anybody's hand. I have not approached anybody and it is not about being in a good position," he said.
FAI chief executive Brendan Menton said: "The situation is that Mick has indicated he wants to wait a few weeks before talking about a new agreement. We are quite relaxed about that because we are off to Korea for the World Cup draw in the first week of December and nothing will be done before then. When we come back we'll sit down with Mick and I think it will be concluded pretty quickly."
McCarthy has already begun to look forward to Ireland's future beyond next year's tournament in Japan and South Korea. "I'd like the chance to go to Portugal for the 2004 European Championships when we will be among the top seeds in the qualifying groups. I've said many times I want to stay on but I wouldn't make any decision before we were through to the World Cup.
"It is not about being in a good position to negotiate. We've been successful and so I'd expect everybody to be rewarded - the players, the staff, my assistant Ian Evans, and myself. We've done what we had to do and that was to qualify - and I think the credit has got to be shared among so many people," said McCarthy.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
