It's the news that had been coming for a while - Martin O'Neill is staying on with Ireland past the Euros.
The FAI have announced a raft of extensions for the coaching team the day the Republic of Ireland squad leave for the Euros. The deals will see O'Neill, Roy Keane, Steve Guppy, Seamus McDonagh, and Steve Walford stay in charge until after the World Cup in 2018.
Here is O'Neill's statement on the deal via the FAI website:
I am delighted that John Delaney and the FAI Board have extended our contracts for the World Cup campaign.
It has been an absolute privilege to have been in charge of the Republic of Ireland national team, these last 30 months, and we go to France tomorrow in good spirits, with a strong desire to do well in the next few weeks.
The players have done brilliantly in the campaign so far and they are ready for the big challenges ahead.
FAI CEO John Delaney was also extremely happy with the new deals:
I am delighted we have agreed terms with Martin and his team of Roy Keane, Steve Guppy, Seamus McDonagh and Steve Walford.
The board of the FAI were unanimous in offering Martin and his full management team a renewal of their contracts.
Since Martin has taken over we have achieved the objective of qualifying for the EUROs and he has lead the project in helping to develop some of the emerging talents in Irish football, including Robbie Brady and Shane Duffy, right up to the recent introduction of Callum O’Dowda, who made his senior debut last week.
I am delighted to have worked with Martin and his team through qualification for the Euros, and I and all of the staff in the Association, look forward to working with them into the future.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish the management team, the players and the backroom team the very best as we embark on our journey to France tomorrow for the European Championships.
