S.G: Keane factor will boost O'Neill's Ireland but what happens when the novelty wears off?

The appointment of two such fiery characters has got the country talking but their appointments may do little to improve the national team's fortunes in the long run

Martin O'Neill may be the incoming manager but it's the most high-profile assistant in Irish football history who is commanding the headlines. Eleven years after Saipan and Ireland is again divided over Roy Keane.

The Manchester United legend will bring discipline to an increasingly intractable group of players; players that need bosses who will "take no sh*t," in the words of current captain Robbie Keane.

Conversely, the former skipper's own confrontational nature may well work against him - especially since he has only been named in a subordinate role himself. His own managerial spells at Sunderland and Ipswich Town suggest that confrontation and controversy will never be far away.