The president of the FAI, Milo Corcoran, paid tribute to Mick McCarthy tonight saying he should be judged on the excellent results he achieved with the National team during his tenure. Corcoran insisted McCarthy's six and a half year reign should be remembered with what he achieved rather than the World Cup row with Roy Keane.
He said, “Mick McCarthy's tenure as manager of the Irish team should be judged on the excellent results achieved during his period as manager. He has taken the Irish team to 14th in the world and his results over a period of almost seven years speak volumes for his abilities as a manager.
“He deserves enormous credit for the success he achieved with the team since 1996 culminating in our success in reaching the last 16 of the World Cup finals of 2002.”
Meanwhile, speaking at tonight’s press conference McCarthy spoke about his decision to stand down and said that the decision was his and his alone but that the negativity surrounding the job was now affecting the team and that is was time to go.
Filed by Johnny Proby
