Ireland was painful but won't stop me joining the A list, says Staunton

Yet for recently deposed Republic of Ireland boss Steve Staunton it is exactly where his fantasies are being laid down. Again.

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Staunton is one of a handful of former professionals undertaking their A licence — Jeff Kenna, Nicky Eaden and Mark Venus are the others — to gain a top job. But the former Liverpool and Aston Villa defender stands out. After all, few managers ever get the chance to take charge of their national team.

Yet for Staunton the job offer came with a twist. The twist of a knife, as it turned out.

So great was the expectation in his homeland that the rookie was expected to overhaul Germany (fifth in the FIFA rankings) and the Czech Republic (sixth) to reach the Euro 2008 finals.

His humiliation was public and painful. The same newspaper that had lampooned England coach Graham Taylor as a turnip superimposed Staunton's head on Kermit the Frog's body and slapped it on the front page. 'Wally with a brolly,' is tame by comparison. And Steve McClaren failed to overcome Croatia (10th) and Russia (24th) as England boss.

Hardly a way to treat the most capped player in your country's history yet Staunton has borne his managerial baptism with fortitude.

On one of his first international trips as a player he was ordered to fetch the teas for a card school being run by Liam Brady. The rookie let the legendary midfielder know exactly what he thought.

The same determination that dragged him from Dundalk as a teenager and earned him honours with two of English football's greatest clubs is going into gaining his qualifications.

Staunton has not tasted too much failure in football. He knows he will be judged again when he turns up somewhere as a manager in his own right.

'I thought long and hard before accepting the Ireland job but it's your country, isn't it?' he said.

'It may never have come again. In the end, I thought to myself "Why not?" I have my own ideas, I know what makes footballers tick. I get on well with players. I'm not frightened of making decisions. I knew I could do it.

'But when I looked down the games we had, it was hard. It was a tougher group than England's. I spoke to my counterparts in Germany and the Czech Republic. They couldn't believe how the Ireland team was perceived in its own country.

'You can make excuses, but the 18 months I had — even Sir Bobby Robson said he'd known nothing like it in his 40- odd years of management — was horrendous due to injuries and suspensions.

The medical staff were embarrassed to see me sometimes.

'Even with those problems, we lost just one of our last 12. That was against the Czech Republic when we were down to 10 men. England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland all finished third. Because Scotland beat France home and away, theirs is looked upon as a good third place. Ours? It's poor, supposedly.

'People in Scotland are only now talking about the good job Berti Vogts did in bringing young players through. At the time, he was ridiculed. I believe there are similarities with what I've been through. Why do you think so many people want the Ireland job now? They weren't queuing up for it two years ago, were they? Top managers aren't stupid, they can see what's coming.'

At times Staunton felt he was the victim of a turkey shoot. 'There's only one target and everyone is standing there facing you with a machine gun.

'One reporter from an Irish tabloid turned up at a training session and handed me Kermit the frog just so they could get a snap of me with it. What's that got to do with football? I'm convinced some people never wanted me to succeed.'

Staunton believes the FAI should not be afraid to appoint a foreign manager — Gerard Houllier last night emerged as a leading candidate alongside Terry Venables, Lawrie Sanchez and Brady — but for him it's back to the grindstone.

He is simply an out-of-work former international manager with a c.v. showing statistics that aren't half bad. For the benefit of any prospective employers, he's well mannered, but driven.

'I'm doing my A licence, just like Gareth Southgate at Middlesbrough. Roy Keane is 12 months ahead of me. But no course would have prepared me for the two years I had with Ireland.

'I've moved on. I want to go back into day-to-day football.

'I was bemused at losing the job. But that's football. I'm just looking forward to my next challenge. Please God, someone will give me a chance. I have enough trust and belief in my own ideas to get results. I'm frightened of nothing, I will get my hands dirty.'

He already has.