DUBLIN (REUTERS) - Ireland are close to appointing Martin O'Neill as manager and Roy Keane as his assistant, more than a decade after the former captain walked out on the team at the 2002 World Cup, FAI chief executive John Delaney said on Tuesday.

Delaney said that the pair had still to sign contracts but that he saw no impediment to O'Neill taking over from Giovanni Trapattoni who quit in September.

"Almost done now. There's nothing I think that will be an impediment in terms of Martin being manager and Roy as his assistant," Delaney told the Newstalk radio station.

Keane, regarded as one of the country's greatest players, had a major fallout with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) over preparations for the 2002 World Cup and despite returning to play two years later, he has remained a vocal critic of the association.