FAI confident that O’Neill will stay on

THE FAI remain confident that Martin O’Neill will remain as Ireland manager despite being odds-on favourite with some bookmakers to take the Everton job.

The Irish Mail on Sunday understands the FAI still expect O’Neill to sign the new contract which he verbally agreed with the association’s chief executive, John Delaney, prior to the World Cup playoff with Denmark.

O’Neill’s odds to take the reins at Goodison Park were slashed over the weekend, making him the front-runner, but Abbotstown chiefs are treating it as idle speculation.

The beleaguered Premier League club have been without a permanent boss since Ronald Koeman was sacked over a month ago and their search for a successor to the Dutchman has been a chaotic one.

New owner Farhad Moshiri originally set his sights on Watford’s Marco Silva but a £10 million fee scuppered that deal from taking place quickly. The Portuguese has remained in the frame along with Burnley’s Sean Dyche and former England manager Sam Allardyce, during which time David Unsworth has been in temporary charge for almost five weeks.

However, following Thursday night’s embarrassing 5-1 defeat at home to Atalanta in the Europa League, Moshiri insisted a shortlist of three had been finalised and a decision would be made swiftly.

The shambolic nature to the pursuit opened the market and O’Neill’s name has become more prominent as a result, although the FAI are unmoved by the reports.

Everton are 16th in the table and travel to Southampton today looking to edge further clear of the relegation zone.