Robson tops Irish interview schedule

The identity of the next Republic of Ireland manager will become a little clearer this week when a Football Association of Ireland delegation flies to England to interview some of the leading candidates.

Milo Corcoran, president of the FAI, along with treasurer John Delaney and Kevin Fahey, the acting general secretary, will decide who succeeds Mick McCarthy during meetings with up to six contenders at a secret location, possibly in Manchester.

The former Middlesbrough manager Bryan Robson is still among the favourites for the job, especially as he has a good relationship with Roy Keane and could persuade him to play for his country again in the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign.

Also expected to be interviewed is the former Tranmere manager John Aldridge, who won 69 caps as a striker for the Republic in his playing days and scored 19 goals.

Another candidate is Peter Reid, the former Sunderland manager. His strength lies in the fact he may be able to take as his assistant Niall Quinn, the popular former striker who won 91 caps before retiring after the World Cup finals last summer as the country's record goalscorer.

The panel, which may stay in England for more than one day, is also believed to be seeing the former Manchester United defender Kevin Moran, who made it onto the shortlist of the FAI's special advisor, Bryan Hamilton.

Moran has been linked with the job, with Brian Kidd as his assistant, although Kidd is also in the running for the vacant post as assistant to the England coach Sven Goran Eriksson.

If Kenny Dalglish is still interested in the post, he too could be interviewed by the panel, which will fly in either tomorrow or Wednesday. The other coach in the running is Phillipe Troussier, who was in charge of Japan side during the last World Cup.

Those six candidates face competition from the Republic's former technical director, Brian Kerr, who has already been interviewed. He runs the country's youth teams and is highly respected in Irish football. Kerr is also well-liked by the younger players in the current squad who have come through the national ranks.