Thursday 12 September 2013 08:29, UK
The Football Association of Ireland will take its time to decide on a successor to Giovanni Trapattoni.
O'Neill, who was sacked by Sunderland at the end of March, is not the only potential candidate to fill the vacancy, with former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy, currently at Ipswich, his captain Roy Keane and current Norwich boss Chris Hughton also figuring prominently in the betting. Delaney said: "I think there will be plenty of interest because first of all, 24 teams go to the European Championships, it's genuinely accepted we have a good crop of young players and the monetary incentive has been good over the last number of years. "The knowledge of the Irish job because of Trapattoni across Europe has created interest in managing the Irish team. "It will be interesting to see who puts their best foot forward." Asked specifically about Keane, who famously returned home from the Far East before the 2002 World Cup finals had started, Delaney said, laughing: "I don't think I will comment on any individual." He added: "I think names like Mick, Brian McDermott, Chris Hughton, Roy Keane all come into the pot - Martin O'Neill, of course. "I wouldn't want to comment on any individual chances. Mick has done a very good job for Ireland and in England as well. "We will look at the job description over the next week. "The last four or five days have been difficult for everyone in Irish football. It was important to get a decision made in a dignified way. "We have to look at who can get the best out of the players available to us. "Sometimes in Ireland when things are great, we get too carried away; when they are not, we get too negative."
