SOCCER:Don Howe said yesterday he believed the decision who to appoint as next manager of the Republic of Ireland team should be taken by the FAI. The former England coach - who, along with Don Givens, was formally identified by the association yesterday as a member of its recruitment panel - was adamant he and the Ireland under-21 manager would be confined to helping with the selection process.

Speaking with TV3, Howe confirmed he and Givens had met "fleetingly" four FAI members in London. The 72-year-old, recommended for the role by Bobby Robson, said he was "honoured" to have been asked to play a part in the process of hiring Steve Staunton's successor but insisted he and Givens would not be deciding who got the job.

His comments are at odds with the line taken by the FAI chief executive, John Delaney, on the night Staunton was sacked and by the association generally since: the recruitment panel would effectively pick the new man.

"Over the past month we laid the groundwork for the next stage in the process," said Delaney in a statement issued by the association after yesterday's meeting. "We have finalised the terms of reference, the criteria and financial package and the process has now been handed over to the panel."

The statement went on to make clear Howe and Givens had been told they could involve others in the process as they saw fit. Their first task, it was stated, "will be to draw up a list of the candidates they wish to interview. When they have completed their work they will return to the board with a recommendation."

Delaney, David Blood, Michael Cody and Eddie Murray represented the FAI at the meeting. It is believed they provided Givens and Howe with sample two-year contracts giving no specific salary figures but apparently indicating the organisation would pay something approaching €1 million per annum to the right candidate.

Venables remains the most likely to be offered the job but it is believed that as of yesterday the 64-year-old had still received no official contact in relation to the position, and both Given and Howe have suggested the process will probably take some time.

As Howe and Givens prepare to embark on their part of the process, the former Switzerland manager Roy Hodgson resigned as manager of Finland and suggested that if another national association wanted to hire him they would have to act quickly.

The 60-year-old is believed to have agreed to accept the offer of a job working alongside the Inter Milan president, Massimo Moratti, in an as-yet-unspecified advisory role.

The club, managed by Roberto Mancini, are the Serie A champions and lead this season's title race by three points going into the weekend.

Hodgson coached there between 1995 and 1997 before returning for a brief spell in 1999.

"If a national team wanted to have me," said Hodgson, who has been linked with the England job in recent days as well as the Ireland one, "they would have to be, a, very quick and, b, persuade the president to get rid of me before he even takes me on."

He said he would otherwise start at Inter in January.

Hodgson leaves Finland after overseeing what was considered to be a good qualifying campaign for a country that has never reached a major tournament finals. The Finns finished fourth behind Poland, Portugal and Serbia in a tough qualifying group, taking 24 points from 14 games.

"We would have liked to keep Roy . . . he has done a fantastic job," said the Finnish association president, Pekka Hamalainen, adding that Hodgson would help choose a successor.

The agent representing Dutch coach Arie Haan, meanwhile, made another play to get his man into the reckoning yesterday by appealing to supporters to publicly express their preference for the 60-year-old over Venables.

"It's time," said Hong Kong-based Mark Mullan, "to break with the past and move on from the time of 'the gaffer' to the Haan dynasty."