Former Dutch international Arie Haan believes he is the man to lead the Republic of Ireland into World Cup 2010 after formally applying to the FAI for the job this morning, writes Carl O'Malley.

The 59-year-old yesterday confirmed his keen interest in the position that would see him take Ireland into a qualification group for the finals in South Africa against Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro.

Haan's pedigree as a player is excellent and he has enjoyed some success as a manager in a 20 year career that saw him manage in Belgium, the Netherlands, China and most recently Cameroon.

"To be a national coach is an interesting job anyway, but when it is a country that can improve I think I could do a lot," Haan said. "Ireland has its own way of playing and they have spirit which is good, but being from the Netherlands, we have different ideas on tactics and how we can play.

"If we can put the two together I think we can have a good formula. There are a lot of good candidates but from my side I can only say that I bring a lot of experience and a lot of success and maybe it's not so bad for Ireland to have a thinking coach, one who thinks a little bit differently than they do in England or Ireland because I think if you keep the same mentality not much will change.

"You need coaches or people around you who know what it is to win. Only with this mentality you win and all my life I win much more than I lose."

As a player, Haan won three European Cups in a row with Ajax, before successful spells at Anderlecht and Standard Liege in Belgium.He was a key player in the great 'total football' Dutch sides of 1974 and 1978 that lost to West Germany and Argentina in consecutive World Cup finals.

His coaching CV has seen some success, mainly in the early years with Anderlecht and Stuttgart.