Amid firm denials of reports that representatives of the FAI would be meeting Terry Venables within a matter of days, the association's board met last night and agreed to start discussing the terms and conditions that would be offered to Steve Staunton's successor.
The suggestion that the former England manager is at this stage effectively the sole serious candidate for the job was gently played down in the wake of last night's meeting but in a statement the organisation said that the board's members agreed that the process so far has been "positive".
It was decided that the next step forward would be for leading members of the 10-man committee to meet the association's "headhunters" to brief them on what they will be in a position to offer any candidate they meet over the coming days and weeks. An outline of the role the new man will be expected to fulfil will also be agreed.
That meeting, which will be attended on behalf of the association by its chief executive John Delaney as well as Michael Cody (honorary secretary), David Blood (president) and Eddie Murray (treasurer) is likely to take place within the next week and only then, it seems, will serious talks with would-be appointees get under way.
The recruiters, meanwhile, are believed to include Don Howe who, among many other things was one of Venables' coaches during his time in charge of England, and Andy Townsend who has ruled out taking on any coaching role in the new management team. Bobby Robson, who has been busily canvassing the opinions of senior management figures in the British game, does not appear to be one of the central figures in the process.
It was reported yesterday that Howe and Don Givens, a team-mate of Venables for several season at QPR during the early 1970s, would meet the Londoner tomorrow as the first step of a process intended to end with the 64 year-old taking on the job.
Last night, however, the Ireland under-21 manager, who is in London on a coaching course, denied that he had been asked to attend any meeting. The story has given rise to the suggestion that Givens is the third member of the panel but he also denied having taken on any role in the recruitment process.
The names of the recruitment panel are expected to be formally confirmed next week in the wake of their meeting with the board members. The suggestion is that they are likely to meet more than one candidate and will be free to meet others of their own choosing.
Last night's meeting went on for a couple of hours and it was expected that Delaney would receive some criticism for the manner in which he has personally driven the process in recent weeks, which has been at odds with the declaration last month that he would take a back seat.
The suggestion in the association's statement was that the board membership was content to press on at this stage although it appears to have been clarified that Delaney will not meet any of the candidates over the coming weeks.
There was, meanwhile, a perhaps belated entry into the race for the Ireland manager's job when former Ajax and Netherlands international Arie Haan declared his interest in the post.
The 60-year-had an outstanding career as a player and has since enjoyed some success as a coach, particularly at club level in Belgium.
More recently, he has worked with the national teams of China, who he managed to the final of the Asian Championship, and Cameroon, who he left recently after falling out with his employers over what he felt was interference in the way he was doing his job.
The FAI has announced that those attending this weekend's Ford-sponsored FAI Cup final at the RDS will be entitled to buy a ticket for the international friendly against Brazil in Croke Park on February 6th.
Tickets for Sunday's game are available from the two participating clubs and Ticketmaster priced between €15 and €25 for adults, €5 and €10 for children. Tickets then have to be sent to the FAI at Cup Final Promotion, FAI, National Sports Campus, Abbotstown, Dublin 15, in order to claim the right to purchase the Brazil match tickets.
