O’NEILL’S CONTRACT THRILLER FOR IRISH

MARTIN O’NEILL and Roy Keane gave the Republic of Ireland a pre-tournament boost yesterday by signing new deals to stay for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. The management duo, along with backroom members Steve Guppy, Seamus McDonagh and Steve Walford, are to remain in post for a further two years after guiding the Republic to Euro 2016. O’Neill, who will head for France with his coaching team and players today, said: ‘I am delighted that (chief executive) John Delaney and the FAI Board have extended our contracts for the World Cup campaign. ‘It has been an absolute privilege to have been in charge of the Republic of Ireland national team these last 30 months and we go to France tomorrow in good spirits with a strong desire to do well in the next few weeks. ‘The players have done brilliantly in the campaign so far and they are ready for the big challenges ahead.’ Talks over retaining the services of a management team, which has been in place since November 2013, have been ongoing for some time and O’Neill (right) has remained relaxed throughout. But the news will come as a relief to those who feared the lure of a return to club management could tempt one, if not both, of the men who have formed an unlikely, but so far successful, partnership. Even before Ireland saw off BosniaHerzegovina in a two-legged play-off to clinch their ticket for the Euros, there was an appetite to build upon the foundations which had been put in place and Delaney was relieved to have tied up the duo. ‘I am delighted we have agreed terms with Martin and his team of Roy Keane, Steve Guppy, Seamus McDonagh and Steve Walford,’ he said. ‘The board of the FAI were unanimous in offering Martin and his full management team a renewal of their contracts. ‘Since Martin has taken over, we have achieved the objective of qualifying for the Euros and he has led the project in helping to develop some of the emerging talents in Irish football. ‘I am delighted to have worked with Martin and his team through qualification for the Euros. I and all of the staff in the association look forward to working with them into the future.’ In the last week or so, O’Neill apologised for an inappropriate remark made during a send-off for the squad in Cork, while Keane has smoothed over the repercussions of some of the typically forthright comments he made after last Tuesday’s 2-1 friendly defeat by Belarus, with Aiden McGeady one of those caught in the crossfire. In Dublin yesterday, Keane said: ‘I’m not going into what I say and don’t say to the players privately. I’ve spoken to a few of the players, not just Aiden, and I’ve done that throughout my career.’