Troussier on Republic list

Philippe Troussier, who coached Japan at the World Cup finals, has declared an interest in succeeding Mick McCarthy as the Republic of Ireland manager.

The Football Association of Ireland has denied any contact so far with the Frenchman, who is the sort of figure that the FAI president Milo Corcoran had in mind when he suggested after McCarthy's resignation last month that the Republic might follow England's lead in turning to a an experienced foreigner. The FAI is still in the process of appointing an adviser to help them draw up a short-list of potential candidates.

Troussier previously coached South Africa, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria before being selected by Japan. "I have been approached by five or six national teams and Ireland is one of them," he claimed. He said he will make a decision about his future in the new year, after recovering from surgery on a knee. The FAI would like to have a new man in place for its next game, a friendly away to Scotland on 12 February.

The Scots and Irish join forces in Geneva next week, when they will learn if a joint bid to stage the 2008 European Championship finals has been successful. Campaign officials believe they are neck-and-neck with another joint bid, from Austria and Switzerland.

"If it's judged on its merits, we have an outstanding chance," Simon Lyons, the campaign manager, said. "But there's more to the bidding than merit alone. It's a political process."

Lyons and John Henderson, the bid director, insist that the Irish government will deliver the two stadiums required to go with Scotland's six, despite having changed its mind about financing one of them. The new ground in Dublin, to be used alongside either a revamped Lansdowne Road or Croke Park, will now have to be funded from the private sector.