Former Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni will become Ireland manager once his contract with Austrian club Salzburg ends in May after agreeing in principle to a deal.

"The intention is we will have a meeting on Wednesday of the board and management to ratify Trapattoni and it is expected he will be announced officially as the new manager on Thursday night," a senior Football Association of Ireland (FAI) source who declined to be identified told Reuters yesterday.

In a move similar to new England coach Fabio Capello's inclusion of former defender Stuart Pearce on his backroom team, the FAI is to hand a role to ex-Ireland international Liam Brady.

"Brady will have a role in the backroom staff," said the source. "What that role is will of course be up to the new manager."

Former midfield general Brady, who played under Trapattoni at Juventus in the 1980s, will take on the Ireland role while remaining as head of Arsenal's academy.

Former England coach Terry Venables had also been in the running for the manager's job.

"Venables was a very credible candidate but this appointment (of Trapattoni) raises the bar for future appointments of Irish managers and sends a signal the FAI was bold enough and had the money to get a top-class candidate," said the source.

"The three-man committee (headed by caretaker coach Don Givens) are all convinced Trapattoni was the right man for the job."

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