FAI director of football Marc Canham said the association is "getting closer" to appointing a new senior men's manager, but he would not guarantee one will be in place before next month's friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland.
The process of replacing Stephen Kenny - who departed in November - continues to drag on.
England Under-21 head coach Lee Carsley remains the No 1 target, but there has yet to be a major breakthrough in terms of an agreement between both parties.
Last week Carsley's former international team-mate Shay Given said: "It's my understanding that it is not going to be Lee Carsley. Maybe not now, but maybe in the future Lee might be interested."
Neil Lennon and Chris Coleman are both understood to be out of the running, as is Chris Hughton, recently sacked by Ghana after a disappointing AFCON.
Speaking at the unveiling of his comprehensive Football Pathways Plan on Tuesday, Canham said: "The process is ongoing. We hope to complete that process as soon as possible. We're getting closer, that's all I would say on that.
"It's similar to what we did with the women's head coach. We are following a very similar process, similar timeline. I'm not going to comment on any individuals or any circumstances, but we continue to have positive conversations with candidates about the role. Like I said we hope to conclude that as soon as possible.
"I'm not going to talk about any candidates, any specifics."
When asked if there was a possibility there might not be a manager in place by the time Ireland are next in action in late March, Canham replied: "The process is ongoing. We hope to conclude that as soon as possible. It's a confidential process. We ran a very tight process with respect to all the people that we spoke to and are speaking to. We just need to make sure that we keep that completely confidential."
Speaking to RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue, Canham expanded on the overall philosophy he's looking to thread through Ireland teams, from senior level down to Under-15s.
"We believe having a clear idea of how we want to play, coach and support players will give us the best opportunity to progress players through the pathway and ultimately for our senior team to play," he said.
"It will be a set of principles that when we lose the ball these are the things we do. When we win the ball these are things we do. Broadly when we have got the ball this how we like to play. A broad set of principles you associate with the Irish team, whether they are wearing the green jersey or not, so you'd be like, 'this looks a bit like an Irish international team'."
He also addressed the head of women's and girls' football position, which has not been filled since previous incumbent Eileen Gleeson was named Ireland manager.
Last week there were reports that the association had changed it from being a permanent role to one with a fixed-term, which inevitably led to speculation Gleeson might return to her old job once her managerial contract expires after the 2025 Euros.
Canham said: "We advertised that [role] the day after Eileen was announced as the permanent head coach. We've started the interview process and we hope to conclude that as soon as possible.
"It's a really important role for the game. We hope to conclude that as soon as soon as possible."
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