The Irish papers have been baying for manager Steve Staunton’s head after Ireland’s humiliating 5-2 defeat in Cyprus on Saturday in their Group D Euro 2008 qualifying match.
“Pack your bags and go Stan,” read the back page of the Irish Daily Mirror and the front page headline read “Stan Ain’t the Man”.
Staunton acknowledged his side’s performance was poor but vowed to stay on.
“It’s a terrible result for us. There’s not much more you can say about it … I’m not happy about it but we have to pick ourselves up,” he told reporters after the match.
“I’m not walking away,” he added.
Irish President Mary McAleese happens to be on an official tour to Cyprus at this time .
McAleese was less than complementary about the Irish performance. “Well it wasn’t great was it now,” she said. “We were outclassed. You were two-and-a-half times better than us.”