Several bookmakers have suspended betting on Martin O’Neill being named the new manager of Republic of Ireland.
The early favourite for the job, former Aston Villa and Leicester boss O’Neill seemingly distanced himself from the position – the 61-year-old reportedly fancying another crack at the Premier League.
That catapulted Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy to the top of the FAI’s wishlist and little was done to calm the uncertainty around Portman Road, with the Blues boss refusing to rule himself out of the running.
McCarthy was believed to be the FAI’s fall-back option should O’Neill or fellow target, Guus Hiddink, rule themselves out, but was never approached and now looks set to continue the good work achieved during a year in charge of the Blues.
The Republic host Latvia in a friendly on November 15 before travelling to Poland four days later and the FAI are cofident of having their successor in place before then.
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