Stephen Hunt believes Steve Staunton will take his dismissal on the chin and is now calling on the FAI to appoint a "strong-minded" manager. But Hunt's club boss, Steve Coppell, may not be that man despite suggesting he was interested.

Speaking today, the 52-year-old Reading manager said he has no plans to leave the Madejski Stadium but admitted comments he made in a television interview last night had driven speculation linking him with the Ireland job.

"The (media) stories are just people being mischievous," said Coppell.  "Pat Dolan did an interview with me and we talked about international management. I said it tickles and appeals to me so he mentioned the Ireland job. As a joke, I said my grandmother was Irish, but that's all it was, a joke.

"I don't know if it got interpreted the wrong way but I wouldn't read too much into it . . . . I just said the older I get the more international football appeals to me. Eight games a year - I could quite happily do that."

David O'Leary remains the bookmakers favourite to succeed Staunton.  Hunt has never worked for the former Leeds United and Aston Villa manager but believes he would be a "good choice".

"We need a strong-minded manager - whether he's Irish, English or from another country," said the 26-year-old who debuted under Staunton but feels the national team fell short of its potential under the former manager.

"Over the years Ireland raised the bar so the generation that is playing now are expected to qualify for European Championships and World Cups, which is a good thing because if you are happy with third or fourth place then you might as well not be playing at all.

"Whoever gets the job will have a tough task on his hands. We have to get playing again, get playing well and get the country behind us again because it was the press in Ireland that hounded the manager out and in the end the public supported the press and wanted him out.

"But that was never the case with the players. It was just a matter of putting on the shirt, being proud and trying to do our best.  Unfortunately it didn't work out that way in the last few games but we have to look forward now and wait for the new appointment."

Hunt injected life into Staunton's team but was still often overlooked.  Indeed, he started just one competitive match - against Cyprus last week.  While frustrated at not starting more games, he has a lot to thank Staunton for and said his departure was "disappointing".

He also believes the players should shoulder some responsibility.

"I didn't play that well in my last game," he said. "I could have helped a bit more with my performance, but ultimately the manager is responsible for the team. The players crossed the line and didn't perform.  It's not always the manager's fault. Players have bad games and some of us certainly did in the last game against Cyprus. Results are what determines where managers go and results haven't been good."

The 26-year-old then suggested Staunton's severance package - thought to be worth €800,000 - would cushion the blow of losing his job.

"It's not a hard life to have - especially an international manager, it's a great life," Hunt added on BBC Radio.

"I'm sure he'll get the next two years of his contract paid up and it's a job well paid.  But you have to take the criticism, and he has done to be fair. He took it on the chin and he'll learn from it I suppose, as all the players will."