Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane deal to be sealed by Tuesday

Martin O’Neill is expected to be paid in the region of ¤1.2 million byt the FAI, while Roy Keane is set to earn around ¤500,000. Backroom team takes shape as FAI commits €2m in hope of capturing public imagination

The appointments of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane are likely to be ratified by the FAI over the next 48 hours or so.

A board meeting, most probably on Tuesday, is expected to rubber stamp the process prior to a public unveiling of the pair later in the week when they return from Spainwhere they will be working at Manchester United’s Champions League game at Real Sociedad for ITV.

All of the major details of the new regime’s terms and conditions appear to have been worked out at this stage and while it is believed that there are some minor loose ends to be addressed, there seem to be no fears of things falling apart at this stage even with Chris Hughton’s somewhat precarious position at Norwich giving rise to the possibility that O’Neill might have Premier League possibilities on the horizon.

The 61 year-old has agreed to take the job on what is likely to be an initial two-year-deal with an option to continue for a further two that may be directly linked to qualification for Euro 2016. He will be paid in region of €1.2 million with Keane, it is believed, on something much closer to €500,000 and roughly €300,000 to be split apparently between Steve Walford, former Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper Séamus McDonagh and, it is suggested, Steve Guppy, all of whom have extensive experience of working with O’Neill before. Combined bonuses of close to €1 million will reportedly be paid if the Irish team qualifies for France.

Denis O’Brien will again stump up much of the €2 million annual bill for the new management team which another Irish businessman, Dermot Desmond, appears to have had a significant role, in recruiting for the association.

The line up reinforces the widely held feeling that Keane will provide a sounding board for the northerner while helping with the assessment of players as well as the planning and organisational side of things, but that neither will be overly involved in the actual coaching front.

McDonagh’s involvement, if it is confirmed, will mean the exit of current goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly, the one survivor up until this point of the Giovanni Trapattoni era.

McDonagh played 25 times for Ireland back in the early 80s and has spent much of his recent career working alongside O’Neill at the likes of Leicester, Aston Villa and Sunderland. There will be no John Robertson, however, with the Scot preferring to stay away from the game for the moment in the wake of a heart attack a couple of months ago.

There appears to be a mutual understanding, meanwhile, that Keane and the FAI officials he has long been so scornful of will not to have to deal directly with each other too much. John Delaney and the former Manchester United star are bound to have to grit their teeth and get on with it a few times over the coming weeks, but for the most part the Corkman will answer to O’Neill who will, in turn, account to Abbotstown.

Reaction to the impending appointments has been mixed with most affected players, predictably enough, positive, while others in the game have admitted to some surprise and other observers have acknowledged the potential for Keane’s involvement to end badly.

“I am surprised, yes,” said Celtic boss Neil Lennon, who knows both men well, yesterday. “I didn’t realise that there was a connection between the two of them before now. They are two interesting characters, two great personalities. They have a vast knowledge of the game. They are two proud guys. God help the players!”