SOCCER/Roy Keane's Expulsion: With the stormcloud of their skipper's dramatic departure still casting a long shadow over them, the Irish squad finally got to spend their first day on Japanese soil yesterday.

After training at the 11,000-capacity Hanayama Stadium, where the Irish will take on J-league side Sanfrecce, Hiroshima, in their final pre-tournament game this afternoon, Mick McCarthy was again upbeat about the current state of his team's preparations. He remains convinced they are going well enough to justify his claim that the Irish should be fearless when going into each of their three group games. What's more certain, however, is they will be Keane-less, no matter how far they go in a tournament that had looked set to allow the 30-year-old midfielder to cement his reputation on the international stage.

There was much talk yesterday about the rebuilding of bridges between the Cork man and the Republic's manager, but no signs of any direct progress with the player insisting as he left Saipan alone he had "absolutely no regrets" and McCarthy telling those attending the day's press conference that he would not be speaking of the player again between this and the end of these finals.

Again he managed to be fairly cheerful and firm while discussing the issue; just as he had reportedly been shortly after dawn in Saipan when an offer by the Taoiseach to lend his services to the situation was promptly declined.

"He rang our hotel at 6.15 this morning and offered his assistance," said FAI president Milo Corcoran. "He asked, if he was able to persuade Roy Keane to apologise for what had happened, would Mick be prepared to take him back into the squad."

"I didn't answer for Mick. I just passed the message on. But he said it wasn't on. In fact, I don't think he was quite as polite as that; but that's the end of it."

Some of Corcoran's fellow officials within the association did still appear for a while yesterday to feel that some sort of compromise, aimed at allowing the Manchester United player to return for the championships, might be arrived at. But as reports emerged regarding the precise nature of Keane's attack on McCarthy, the latter's resolve on the issue looked increasingly understandable.

And by last evening he had received the backing of several senior members of the association's hierarchy.

During the course of a long and deeply abusive tirade, it turned out Keane had not only derided McCarthy's abilities both as a player and a manager, but had explicitly questioned the former Ireland captain's entitlement to call himself Irish, referring to him at one stage as an "English c**t". Half of the players present were, like McCarthy, born in Britain.

In the circumstances it would be hard to see even a much less determined character than McCarthy undergoing a change of heart with regard to the decision to expel the player after such an attack, no matter how important he might be to the team's chances of doing well over the next couple of weeks.

Rumours have nevertheless persisted that some type of rescue mission would be launched. However, back in Dublin, the FAI's Development Officer, John Byrne, insisted those advocating a reprieve could expect little in the way of backing as there had been a complete turnaround in public opinion on the matter.

"The mood has changed here," said Byrne. "When the news came out first, we were getting slaughtered by people getting on to the office; but since they have started to see accounts of what actually happened, 99 per cent of the calls we are getting are supportive of Mick."

As he prepared for this afternoon's game yesterday, McCarthy said simply he did not wish to dwell on the matter any further. Asked about it he replied "That's history, that part of the trip. I'm not going to discuss it, discuss anybody's opinion of it, criticism of it, analysis of it. I'm moving on. All I'm prepared to discuss from today onwards are the 22 players that I've got with me."

McCarthy discounted the possibility that that number might soon rise to 23 on the basis that FIFA's regulations state that once named in a final squad list, players needing to be replaced must have withdrawn through injury, something that is clearly not the case in this instance.

Briefly, Corcoran raised hopes that FAI honorary secretary Des Casey might win a concession from the world body on the matter; although his subsequent remark that Casey was "sussing out the loopholes" hardly seemed to offer too much hope.

In the meantime McCarthy has been obliged to rest a number of his 22, with Steve Finnan (ankle), Kenny Cunningham (hamstring) Lee Carsley (thigh) and Gary Breen (neck) all ruled out of consideration for his starting eleven because of minor problems picked up over the course of the last week.

None of them, he continues to insist, is at serious risk of being unavailable next Saturday for the Cameroon game and the manager looked perfectly happy yesterday with the prospect of giving run outs to Gary Kelly at right back, Richard Dunne in central defence and playing what is now his first choice central midfield partnership of Mark Kinsella and Matt Holland.

A capacity crowd is expected for the game (scheduled for 3.30 local time, 7.30 a.m. BST) which is intended to mark the opening of the new stadium in Izumo. The Irish squad yesterday received an enormous welcome at a large civic reception in the city. And the level of interest in the teams visit has proven to be little short of phenomenal, with some 2,000 volunteers having become involved in looking after the official party and the fans that have arrived to support the team.

Even the stadium has been brought to near completion vastly ahead of schedule in order to tie in with the visit of the Republic's World Cup team.

Tomorrow, meanwhile, McCarthy will travel to the City of Kobe to size up Group E rivals Cameroon, who are due to take on England in the last game of their pre-tournament friendly programme.

IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); Kelly (Leeds Utd), Dunne (Manchester City), Staunton (Aston Villa), Harte (Leeds Utd); McAteer (Sunderland); Kinsella (Charlton Athletic), Holland (Ipswich Town), Kilbane (Sunderland); Keane (Leeds United), Duff (Blackburn Rovers).