THE Millwall manager, Mick McCarthy (37), is expected to be appointed manager of the Republic's soccer team today for four year period.
He is expected to be offered a salary believed to be significantly higher than the £120,000 earned by Jack Charlton in his last year in charge.
The announcement, likely to be made at a press conference in Lansdowne Road, Dublin, this afternoon, will end weeks of intense speculation.
McCarthy was always one of the favourites to get the job, especially when Joe Kinnear, the Wimbledon manager, withdrew his candidature last week.
The former Manchester City and Celtic defender has never made any secret of his desire to manage Ireland. He said he would consider it "an honour" to manage his country.
The appointment of McCarthy, a former captain of the Republic, was put in place on Friday evening when he was contacted by phone by the president of the FAI, Mr Louis Kilcoyne. McCarthy arrived in Dublin yesterday afternoon and was whisked away by a friend to an unknown destination.
Earlier, high profile names such as Kenny Dalglish of Blackburn Rovers and Alex Ferguson of Manchester United had been mentioned. Dave Bassett, Mike Walker and Liam Brady also appeared in the frame, attending the much publicised interviews in a London hotel. It was then thought the job was between McCarthy and Kinnear.
However, recently retired players Kevin Moran and Ronnie Whelan made a late showing.
McCarthy is Jack Charlton's choice as his successor. He had been his loyal captain for many years and Charlton had given him much credit for the successes of the last 10 years.
He was capped 57 times and led by example on the field.
He has had some success as manager of Millwall, ending the past few seasons in the top half of the first division. He encourages an attractive brand of football, astounding many of his critics who thought he would concentrate on the long ball game.