The Football Association of Ireland have called a board meeting for Wednesday afternoon when they are expected to confirm Giovanni Trapattoni as the new manager of the national team.

FAI representatives are due to meet with the three-man selection panel who were charged with finding Steve Staunton’s successor - comprising Don Givens, Ray Houghton and Don Howe - at 4.30pm when the veteran Italian will be recommended as the man charged with leading Ireland to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

Reports in Ireland claim the trio held talks with the 68-year-old last night in Austria, and that Trapattoni agreed to take over when his contract with Red Bull Salzburg expires in May.

The FAI has come in for increasing criticism over its delay in appointing a successor to Staunton, who was sacked back on October 23, latterly by Roy Keane, the former captain of the national team who is now manager of Sunderland.

“That’s the FAI for you,” Keane said on Friday. “I am not being smart, but why do we need three men on a panel? I think the players have simply questioned why it has taken so long, because there are some quality managers available. I recommended David O'Leary at the start, but he ruled himself out, but it is typical of the FAI. They do everything backwards."

Ever the players have become frustrated over the delay. “It’s been four months now and is the wrong way to go about things,” Richard Dunne, the central defender, said. “To be honest, I think most of the players are upset. We’ve got three games maximum before our World Cup qualification starts and we should have a manager. We don’t and it’s bad."

John Delaney, the FAI chief executive, confirmed this evening that, finally, things were moving forward. “I spoke to Don Givens last night, and I spoke to him this morning,” he said.

“I think we are entering the concluding phase in the search for the next Irish manager. They have done various interviews over the last couple of days - I am not going to say where they were or where they weren’t because of the confidentiality that has been around most of the interviews and most of the meetings - but what I do know is that I got a call from Don to say could we organise a board meeting for Wednesday at 4.30pm.

“We’ll have a press conference on Wednesday and I think we are entering the concluding stages in the search for a new manager.”

According to newspaper reports in Ireland Liam Brady, the former midfielder who had a successful playing career in Italy with the likes of Sampdoria and Juventus, is set to join Trapattoni’s backroom staff as a general manager.

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