Business as usual as leaks and speculation continue

It was a quiet weekend on the Irish international football front. Apart from the leaking of the Genesis report into the affair oft dubbed the 'Saipan Debacle' . . . and apart from Niall Quinn's retirement from football . . . and his insistence that he wouldn't take a job with the new Irish regime if it upset Roy Keane.

And, apart from, Bryan Robson's very public declaration that he wants to be the new Irish manager, not to mention the non-too-subtle suggestions that the wily auld Scot himself, Kenny Dalglish, would happily fill the boots Mick McCarthy has just vacated.

Uneventful, then. In no sense at all.

The Football Association of Ireland probably, collectively, needed a stiff drink after reading the leaks from the report in to their handling of World Cup preparations, authored by Glasgow management consultants Genesis. Whether or not, though, the leaks prove to be an accurate reflection of the substance of the report remains to be seen, but sources close to the FAI were playing down the tone of the leaks, insisting yesterday that much of it was "speculation".

While Genesis resisted the temptation to cast judgment on the celebrity death-match, otherwise known as Masterful Mick v Rowdy Roy, much of their leaked findings backed up the former Irish captain's accusations that Ireland's World Cup preparations were of the highly amateurish variety.

Genesis reported that when the Irish squad arrived in Saipan there were no World Cup footballs waiting for them, no training gear, essential medical equipment or isotonic drinks, required to help the players adapt to the heat and humidity - all criticisms made by Keane.

The report, commissioned by the FAI after the World Cup, is also critical of the Association's public relations efforts, or lack of them, at the time of the Keane row. The findings will be studied by the FAI at a board meeting on Tuesday, after which they will comment publicly.

Meanwhile, Niall Quinn, who found himself at the centre of the manager v captain bust-up in Saipan, announced his retirement from football yesterday. The 36-year-old, who won 91 caps for the Republic of Ireland, has been plagued by back injuries recently and decided it was time to "call it a day". The announcement was made at half-time in Sunderland's game against Tottenham yesterday. "I was telling Peter (Reid) 18 months ago that I couldn't go on, that the game was up. Time just ran out," said Quinn.

Sunderland manager Howard Wilkinson has asked Quinn, who retired from international football after the World Cup, to remain at the club in an "ambassador" role, but should Reid, Quinn's former Sunderland boss, be offered the Irish job, the Dubliner may yet find himself being lined up for the role of assistant manager.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, however, Quinn insisted that he would not accept any role in the Irish set-up if his presence made Keane reluctant to resume his international career. "There is the possibility that Roy Keane wouldn't play if I was involved and in that case, I wouldn't be involved," he said.

Elsewhere, Robson, the former Manchester United captain and Middlesbrough manager, declared his interest in the Irish job on the BBC on Saturday morning, saying that he would deal with the "Keane problem" if and when he was offered the post.

Then Pat Devlin, manager of Bray Wanderers and a close friend of Kenny Dalglish, the former Liverpool, Blackburn and Newcastle manager, said that Dalglish would "definitely be interested" in the post.

Minor problem? Judging by his autobiography, Keane is as fond of Kenny Dalglish as he is of Mick McCarthy and Alf-Inge Haaland, combined.

The story rumbles on. And on. And on . . .