Analysis: Mark Lawrenson on Brian Kerr's task and Roy Keane's decision

To be honest about it I was surprised Brian Kerr was appointed manager - Mick McCarthy is a hard act to follow, in terms of results, which is why I thought the FAI would have gone down the "experience" route, going for someone, on that basis, like Joe Kinnear. The truth is I just didn't realise what a groundswell of support there was for Kerr in Ireland.

I worry about the FAI - but then I've worried about them for 25 or 30 years. If they allowed the fact Kerr is "media-friendly" to be a factor in their decision then I would despair of them even more than I do. It should have nothing to do with it, it's about getting results now. Being popular with the press counts for nothing. He's up against the records of his two predecessors, which were excellent, that's what he'll be judged on.

I just think it's a really difficult job to take at the moment because, regardless of what you thought of him, the best part about McCarthy's management was his ability to get average players to play above themselves, on a regular basis.

Kerr will have absolutely no problem getting the best out of people who have played for him before, like Damien Duff, Robbie Keane and John O'Shea. The great problem will be the average players - and we have quite a few. Everything will rest on Kerr's ability to rev them up every time they play - that, for me, is going to be his biggest test. And getting the team to add up to more than the sum of its parts, which is what we've done the past few years, is what it will be all about.

With the greatest will in the world being a successful manager at underage level and being successful at senior level are two completely different things. I don't go with the argument he'll struggle to get the respect of our big-earning Premiership players - if you look at why we have been relatively successful it's because we have a fantastic club spirit so I don't expect any of our players to come out with stuff like "Brian Kerr, what's he done?."

Anyway, look at Arsene Wenger - everybody said "Arsene who?" when he was appointed Arsenal manager, but they soon knew. Alright, we don't have the same quality of players as Wenger had then, but it's a similar situation. Also, that relationship doesn't really matter at international football - after all, Roy Keane played for Mick McCarthy for years and, let's face it, he hated him. Players just get on with it.

Speaking of Roy Keane. For me, yesterday's announcement underlines what a silly boy he was in the summer. Some people will tell you he was sent home from the World Cup but he was sent home in the end because he demanded to be sent home. As for the "medical-advice" reason he offered for his retirement - no, sorry, I don't go with that. He could have just played the competitive games and I wouldn't have had any problem with that. You watch how many games he plays for Manchester United between now and the end of the season, I'll have a little bet with you he plays in every single one. It's a fudge, that's all it is.

If he'd agreed to play in the remaining qualification games he might have just gone up in my estimation, a little bit - which wouldn't be hard. I don't care what anyone says, he did not want to be at the World Cup. I just think the whole thing is an absolute waste. I'm just feeling completely cynical about all of this, a waste of space the whole thing, a waste of everyone's emotions, everybody's time.

Nobody should view this as an insult to Kerr. I'd like the pro-Keane people in Ireland to seriously think about this in light of yesterday's announcement - if they do, it will make them think again. Who could resist coming back home to Ireland to play a game, to play for your country? Who could resist that?

When somebody does a biography of him as an international footballer they'll say, "world class footballer", no arguments; "was outstanding for Ireland", but then they'll say: 'He walked out on his country and then decided he wasn't going to go back" - when we were told he walked out because he didn't like the manager. Yet, when the manager was changed he then said: "I'm not playing anyway" behind the smokescreen of the advice of his surgeon. Na, I'm not having it.

Of course tonight's game, Kerr's "debut", will be overshadowed by the Keane story, but at least from then on Kerr will be free of the issue. He'll have a decent honeymoon period, starting tonight, but the pressure will build after that. Because of the poor start to the European qualifying campaign there might be lower expectations but if we don't qualify this time imagine the pressure to make it to Germany 2006?

But listen, it may turn out to be a fantastic appointment, what we have to do is give him as much of a chance as possible and wish him well. He deserves that. And, hopefully, he won't be asked about Mr Keane again.

In an interview with Mary Hannigan