International Soccer: Paul Jewell is out of the running to succeed Steve Staunton as Republic of Ireland manager. The 43-year-old had been considering whether to put his name forward for the job since last week when he met with Johnny Giles to discuss the situation but has apparently decided against it. He said afterwards that he was both "flattered" to be mentioned in connection with the vacancy and "impressed" by what Giles had said to him.
At the time his previously expressed view that he was after a job in club rather than international football softened considerably but it now appears that, having had time to think the situation over, he has decided to wait for the right job to come up in England.
The decision will come as a disappointment to the FAI who are still in the process of finalising the line-up of intermediaries it will use to make the appointment.
Two of the three men who will play a key role in the making the appointment have been appointed by John Delaney and the board are working to complete the line-up.
Though lacking any experience of international football, Jewell looked to be a serious candidate for the job and his withdrawal narrows the field of obvious contenders.
His thinking, though, is not hard to fathom after it was reported that Steve Bruce's pay packet deal at Wigan will be €3 million a year plus the same again if he keeps them in the Premier League.
The other name most prominently linked with the Ireland job in recent weeks has been that of Terry Venables.
The former England manager is keen to land the post and any lingering doubts about his availability were cleared up yesterday when both he and Steve McClaren were sacked by the English FA.
It is understood that Venables has yet to have made any contact with the FAI or any of its representatives but his interest is well known and Giles has described him as "a viable" candidate. While some will undoubtedly question the wisdom of appointing the 64-year-old, he clearly possesses many of the attributes that Staunton lacked and at this stage he looks to be the clear favourite for the post.
There are reports, meanwhile, that another contender, Gerard Houllier, has made contact with the association in order to throw his hat into the ring.
The names of those appointed to conduct the search are not being revealed by the association although it is expected that they will emerge when talks get under way with prospective candidates.
Giles is not likely to have agreed to take a formal part in the process but it is expected that he will continue to have some sort of advisory role, most likely a very important one.
There has been a good deal of speculation on who the men appointed to the three-man committee so far are with former England coach Don Howe amongst those being mentioned in connection with the role yesterday.
Delaney, meanwhile, heads for the World Cup draw in South Africa with the intention of tying down the detail involved in the proposed "home" international tournament. Scheduling and potential conflicts with existing television deals are amongst the barriers still to be overcome if such a tournament really is to be staged but the will to sort the outstanding problems appears to be there and confirmation that the event is to get under way in the spring could come within the next two weeks.
Back home, the association bids farewell today to its home of more than half a century at Merrion Square. The offices behind the famous green door will be vacated by the organisation today.
From next week all of the staff based there will be relocated to Abbotstown. With a Uefa group due in Dublin over the coming weeks to conduct a preliminary assessment of the association's bid to stage the 2011 Uefa Cup final at the new Lansdowne Road stadium, Michel Platini has been lined up to officially open the association's new home on December 5th.
