Rooney makes right noises

National League Column: Anybody still wondering how the FAI's new chief executive Fran Rooney would settle into the job can only have been impressed with his performance yesterday.

Barely a couple of weeks after starting to work full-time in the role he handled the news that Liam Miller should not have been played in last Friday's under-21 international against Albania like an old hand of the association's senior management team.

Even as we heard about the blunder for the first time we were also being told Rooney had not only already launched an internal investigation into how such the error could have been made but that he had swiftly followed up with the implementation of "new systems" (the creation of one of those new-fangled databases, apparently) were being put in place to ensure nothing like this could happen again.

In reality Rooney's handling of the match-day arrangements for senior internationals gives a better indication of the way in which he will approach his job.

Saturday's attempt to hype things up at Lansdowne Road may have failed to hit the desired note (and the inability of the Scottish stadium announcer before the game to pronounce Mark Kinsella's name properly was embarrassing) but the way in which the new man chose to approach the task gave a strong indication he will seek to involve supporters of the game here in a way that had never been contemplated before.

The last time the leadership of the FAI decided they had better have some fans around for a chinwag they were embroiled in the rather desperate PR battle following the sale of exclusive television rights to Sky TV.

Before that if you asked the FAI how to get in touch with a supporters' group the best they could do was provide you with a post office box number.

Lack of communication has sometimes been the least of the association's crimes against its supporters. When the English came to town in 1995 and there was the fear of trouble inside the ground the FAI's reaction was to place a group of its block ticket bookers, effectively its most loyal fans, in the seats adjoining the English section. Inevitably after the dust had settled there were a few compensation claims to be dealt with.

Eight years on the issue was "noise" and, more specifically, the supporters' apparent inability to generate enough of it. Rooney might well have settled for simply calling in an event management group to take control of matters but instead he sat down with fans of the National League clubs and attempted to explore ways in which the experience of attending Ireland games could become more enjoyable.

At a stroke Rooney provided us with a firm indication of where he sees both the league and its supporters in the overall scheme of things. At the press conference where the plans for Saturday's game were unveiled he make it clear he saw the involvement of the supporters as the start of a two-way process which could be developed.

It's encouraging stuff: a system aimed at improving relations with the public whose backing is essential for the continued development of the game. Let's hope it doesn't all end with an investigation into where it all went wrong.