Why, at 68, does Giovanni Trapattoni need another job? Why does the coach who has won every honour in the game need to put himself through the mill again? And does he realise what awaits him in Ireland

The answers to the first two questions are simple: Trapattoni loves a challenge and believes, rightly or wrongly, that there is one "last hurrah" in him. He has worked from an early age and maintained that strict ethic throughout his life.

Growing up near Milan, as a young baker's apprentice, he would rise at 3am to bake bread. He would then go to school, attend football training, then go to bed. Day after day, week after week, month after month.

Football is a drug, which is why many managers work on into their sixties, yet having such humble roots - much like those of Sir Alex Ferguson - have enabled Trapattoni to survive well into the modern game. He knows what it takes, what is required.

Even in the era of the multimillionaire footballer; even at a time when players can behave badly yet still call the shots; and even when he is old enough to be called "grandad" by many of the young upstarts.

Trapattoni's CV demands respect. And he will get it in Dublin. Yet it is his personal touch, his fatherly manner, that should win over the Irish squad. Sure, he can rant and rave with the best of them. Like Ferguson, he possesses a half-time hairdryer.

If an arm-over-the-shoulder is needed, though, he will provide it. He might be "old school" but he can relate to the younger players, of which Ireland have many, and will instil a belief in them that might have been all but extinguished under previous regimes.

Does he realise what awaits him in Ireland? More difficult to assess but, probably, yes. The three wise members of the selection panel of the Football Association of Ireland were bowled over by his detailed knowledge of Irish squad and its most recent games when they met him last weekend.

Trapattoni, as diligent as ever, was up to speed on everything and, even before Don Givens, Don Howe and Ray Houghton left the meeting, they knew that the wily Italian was their man.

The expectation of the Irish public will be more difficult to understand. Their team has underachieved since reaching the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea and they, like most football fans, are tired of waiting. They expect success today, not tomorrow.

Trapattoni should soon win over the players. Yet as he embarks on his "last hurrah", it might take a bit longer to win over the supporters.

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