Former Irish skipper Andy Townsend last night denied having discussed the possibility of taking on a role in the national team's next management set-up and said that he had declined a role in the FAI's three-man recruitment panel because he feels the appointment is a job for the association's officials, writes  Emmet Malone,Soccer Correspondent

Speaking on Setanta Sports, Townsend said that he had provided his opinions on a wide range of names put to him by chief executive John Delaney when the two men met in London last Friday.

He said, however, that he was not interested in being more involved in the process. "That's not my job," he said. "It's not what I do. It's the FAI's job. That's what they're employed to do, to make that call. If I was the chief exec, I'd make the call myself."

Townsend clearly suggested at one point that he believes the panel members will be asked to ratify a single name given to them. "Yeah, that's what the three guys are going to be hired to do."

But, he continued, "I'd like to think John will go to them and say, 'these are the sorts of guys who are candidates. What do you think'?" Asked if he would be interested in becoming assistant to Steve Staunton's successor, the former Chelsea and Aston Villa midfielder was non-committal.

"I like what I do," he said. "If that question was put to me I'd think about it but at the moment it's a million miles away."

He dismissed the idea that he might be paired with Terry Venables on the basis that the pair had worked together for ITV several years ago. "Does that mean Des Lynam gets a job too," he joked.

The comments came 24 hours after the FAI's board had been told by Delaney that he still wasn't in a position to reveal the names of the panel members. To date, Don Howe is the only man whose membership of the three- man group appears to be generally agreed upon.

Don Givens has been linked in recent days with an active role but denied on Tuesday that he had been approached either to hold talks with Venables or play a wider part in the ongoing search for Staunton's successor.

It would also be viewed as strange for the under-21 manager to get involved in the selection procedure when some candidates might propose a radical shake- up of the under-age structures and, potentially, the replacement of key personnel such as Givens himself. Bobby Robson has previously confirmed that he has been helping out in an informal way but he is not believed to be lined up for a central role.

The loss of Townsend, who is well connected and respected on both sides of the Irish Sea, will be regarded as a setback. There are hopes, however, that the board members (three of them members of the subcommittee that appointed Staunton) chosen to meet the three-man panel when it is finalised will do so within the next week or so.

At that stage the "headhunters" would be in a position to go out and talk with the candidates.

Venables remains the favourite to land the job but it appears that the overall process will take longer to resolve than had looked likely prior to Tuesday evening's meeting of the association's board.

A number of other people have put their name forward for consideration and more of these are likely to be interviewed before a final decision on the appointment is made.

Candidate Haan feels he has something different to offer Ireland side

Former Dutch international Arie Haan believes he is the man to lead the Republic of Ireland into World Cup 2010 after formally applying to the FAI for the yesterday morning, writes Carl O'Malley.

The 59-year-old yesterday confirmed his keen interest in the position that would see him take Ireland into a qualification group for the finals in South Africa against Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro.

Haan's pedigree as a player is excellent and he has enjoyed some success as a manager in a 20 year career that saw him manage in Belgium, the Netherlands, China and most recently Cameroon.

"To be a national coach is an interesting job anyway, but when it is a country that can improve I think I could do a lot," Haan said. "Ireland has its own way of playing and they have spirit which is good, but being from the Netherlands, we have different ideas on tactics and how we can play.

"If we can put the two together I think we can have a good formula. There are a lot of good candidates but from my side I can only say that I bring a lot of experience and a lot of success and maybe it's not so bad for Ireland to have a thinking coach, one who thinks a little bit differently than they do in England or Ireland because I think if you keep the same mentality not much will change.

"You need coaches or people around you who know what it is to win. Only with this mentality you win and all my life I win much more than I lose."

As a player, Haan won three European Cups in a row with Ajax, before successful spells at Anderlecht and Standard Liege in Belgium.He was a key player in the great 'total football' Dutch sides of 1974 and 1978 that lost to West Germany and Argentina in consecutive World Cup finals.

His coaching CV has seen some success, mainly in the early years with Anderlecht and Stuttgart.