European Qualifiers: Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill gives his backing to assistant Roy Keane
Thursday 13 November 2014 20:19, UK
Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill has given his assistant Roy Keane his full backing following an incident at the team hotel on Wednesday.
The Football Association of Ireland also expressed its support for the 43-year-old after reports emerged of an alleged altercation as the squad's Portmarnock base.
O'Neill confirmed the Gardai was investigating the matter and that both he and FAI and chief executive John Delaney were satisfied with Keane’s explanation.
Ireland are preparing for the European Qualifier against Scotland at Celtic Park on Friday, and O’Neill insists the squad will not be distracted any further by the matter.
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O’Neill’s side currently sit joint top of Group D along with Poland after taking seven of the first nine points on offer, the last of them from a creditable 1-1 draw with world champions Germany in Gelsenkirchen last month.
A positive result against the Scots would raise confidence further as they attempt to secure one of the two automatic qualification places up for grabs.
"The FAI and I have been fully briefed about the circumstances of what happened at the team hotel last night,” O’Neill said.
"Roy asked that the Gardai be called and he has notified them of what happened. While this process is ongoing, we are unable to say more at this point.
"However, I can say that having been made aware of the facts, Roy has both my full support and the full support of the FAI and John Delaney.
"We are now focussed, as we have been all week, on the game at hand and we won't be saying anything more about this issue."
