Staunton pays price for Euro failure

So what appeared to be an open secret has finally been confirmed and Steve Staunton has left his post as Republic of Ireland manager by mutual consent following an emergency meeting of the Football Association of Ireland on Tuesday.

The FAI managed to give the Dublin media the slip for much of the day as Staunton's final hours in the job were played out in a series of meetings before the inevitable word of his departure came through just before midnight.

The former Liverpool defender has had the appearance of a 'dead man walking' since the Euro 2008 qualifying draw with Cyprus and, in truth, for many months before that match.

Staunton had initially insisted he would stay in the job after last week's game and, with much of his contract with the FAI still to run, some would say why not?

But the pressure had been building on the Republic boss after a series of poor performances and a European qualifying campaign that never really got off the ground so many pundits felt that his departure was inevitable - and so it proved to be the case.

Staunton was something of a shock choice to take over from Brian Kerr in January 2006, given his limited managerial and coaching experience.

The surprise at his elevation from Walsall assistant coach to international manager was tempered by the appointment of Sir Bobby Robson in the role of consultant and adviser.

It was hoped that Robson's wealth of experience would compliment Staunton's enthusiasm and stature as the Republic's most-capped player but, in the end, it seems to have proved too big a gap to bridge for the former Aston Villa star.

Robson's role as a guiding hand was greatly limited by failing health, although it has been announced that he will stay on as International Football Consultant following the departure of Staunton.

Staunton did begin his reign with much goodwill from the Irish public but a morale-sapping 4-0 friendly defeat by Holland in August 2006 set the tone for things to come.

A month later the Republic boss was ordered from the touchline in a qualifier against Germany and a humiliating 5-2 away defeat by Cyprus soon followed.

Even greater embarrassment was avoided when an injury-time winner led to Staunton's charges beating San Marino 2-1 in February and, although Staunton rode that storm, the writing was already on the wall.

The national boss received the public backing of the FAI but the media and supporters were becoming highly critical of his tactics and were questioning some dubious team selections.

His handling of the media was also less than convincing and often displayed an apparent unawareness of the team's obvious shortcomings.

Staunton earned some breathing space with a 4-0 friendly win over Denmark in August but the sceptics resurfaced when a draw with Slovakia and a defeat by the Czech Republic ended any realistic hopes of qualification.

A draw with Germany was followed by a last-gasp point against Cyprus but another poor display led to FAI chief executive John Delaney declining to offer a vote of confidence.

The Republic are now ranked 32nd in the world, compared to 15th only a few years ago, and, although Staunton may not have had the same quality of player available as previous managers, the general feeling is that he should have done better with the talent at his disposal.

Under-21 manager Don Givens will take charge of the team for the final Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales in Cardiff on November 17 although David O'Leary leads the betting for the job.

Copyright - BBC