Soccer: Sammy McIlroy looks poised to leave Northern Ireland and become manager of Stockport County today.

The Irish Football Association (IFA) yesterday paved the way for the move by giving permission for the English Division Two strugglers to talk to him.

Although McIlroy was recently handed a new two-year contract, the lure of club football and the day-to-day involvement with players appears to be the crucial factor.

Northern Ireland wrapped up their Euro 2004 qualifiers by losing to Greece last Saturday.

It meant they finished the campaign without a goal and without a win.

In fact they have not achieved a victory in 13 matches stretching back two years and have not found the net in 1,242 minutes.

McIlroy was distraught after the defeat in Athens, although there was no shame in losing to Greece, who topped Group Six.

He admitted the job was "killing him" as he was unable to conduct an inquest as the players drifted back to their clubs.

He has also had to deal with a raft of withdrawals during his time in charge.

Although his record as Northern Ireland manager - he replaced Lawrie McMenemy in 2001 - is poor he maintains a reputation in league circles as someone who can produce results on a limited budget.

He took Macclesfield out of the Conference and briefly into the Second Division before becoming national team manager.

McIlroy then went on to win the respect of his squad with Birmingham goalkeeper Maik Taylor emphasising after the defeat by Greece that the squad were 100 per cent behind the manager.

On Monday, despite the defeat in Greece, IFA president Jim Boyce reiterated his support for McIlroy by stating: "I honestly feel no manager could do better with the players available to him."

It now looks as though the die has been cast and although the IFA refused to confirm speculation that McIlroy has quit, they admitted: "We have given Stockport permission to speak to him."