The prospects of the FAI appointing an interim chief executive at their planned board meeting next week have been severely undermined by the determination of the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, that the process of filling the post on a permanent basis be well under way before the end of the year.

With honorary secretary Michael Cody having made it clear on Tuesday he had no interest in the role, it had been expected that another internal candidate could be chosen by the board, with treasurer John Delaney the runaway frontrunner.

The hope, however, had been that the new man would be given 12 months or so in the job before the process of recruiting a longer term replacement for Fran Rooney was tackled. Yesterday, however, sources close to the talks between the Government and FAI on Tuesday said any attempt to come up with a medium term solution to the situation would be likely to go down very badly with the Government.

"The minister simply won't accept that," he said. "He wants to see the whole thing move an awful lot more quickly so that the credibility of everybody concerned can be restored as soon as possible and his view is that the association simply coming up with somebody from within isn't going to come close to having the desired effect. Both the chief executive's post and the financial officer's position have to be advertised this side of Christmas and they have to be filled in a way that is transparent and fair."

Both parties expect to meet again soon and it's not clear if association officials might try to persuade the minister to change his view but given the tone of their meeting on Tuesday it seems unlikely O'Donoghue would reconsider.

Technically speaking he has no authority on the matter but in view of their dependence on the Government for funding and the need for O'Donoghue's backing on major projects like the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and the establishment of a technical centre at Abbotstown, the FAI know they have little option but to humour him.

There is some displeasure at the way the situation is panning out, however, and one observer said, "he is overstepping the mark here, it's a totally unrealistic time frame. It's crucial that the next appointment is the right one and if ever there was a time for getting somebody to provide some stability before people consider taking another chance on an outsider then this is it."

For Delaney the situation is a difficult one. He has long been seen as wanting the game's top job and even some of his critics would prefer him to get it than to continue to exert huge influence from behind the scenes while continually being spared any real blame when things go wrong. But having recently sold his Waterford-based logistics company to a multi-national he is now employed as the Irish operation's commercial manager and it seems unlikely he would consider giving up the post for what might amount to nothing more than a three-month stint in Merrion Square.

In the longer term he is likely to be wary of whatever recruitment process is adopted with the aim of filling the post on a permanent basis. O'Donoghue made it clear on Tuesday that, while he had no problem with applications for the various jobs coming from within, he expected the Irish Sports Council/FAI liaison group, on which he will now be represented by Con Haugh, to see the terms of reference for the job. The committee is also likely to have a role in ensuring the whole procedure is manifestly fair.

If that means that the ability of the FAI's leadership to decide freely on the identity of the organisation's next chief executive is compromised then Delaney's prospects would certainly be dented and the prospect of him missing out and then having to work as treasurer with whoever got the job would be widely seen as unhealthy.

Although he declines to comment on the situation himself it seems possible that in those circumstances he might decide instead to settle for the status quo. To date, though, he has grown used to getting his way when it comes to the affairs of Merrion Square and with his political power within the organisation probably at its height in the wake of Rooney's departure there is likely to be support from the other officers for any attempt to talk the minister around.

Tuesday's meeting between the two sides suggested, however, that Delaney's status as the most capable of the organisation's insiders would not be enough to win him the support of a minister whose tough line so far indicates a determination to be seen as the man who succeeded where so many others failed by forcing the FAI to address, once and for all, their widely documented failings.