Much has been made of Roy Keane’s temperament and the possibility he may have difficulty accepting a subordinate role in the new Ireland set-up. The potential for disaster is no doubt a huge factor of the attraction to this exciting partnership.

For Ray Houghton however that won't be an issue, as he made it clear to Off the Ball yesterday evening that Keane knows his role in the team and, while he “won’t be a yes man” to Martin O’Neill, he “knows in no uncertain terms that the manager is Martin O’Neill and he’s there to assist him, and that is his job.”

Houghton was one of the central characters involved in the process of the FAI finding their new managerial team in the wake of Giovanni Trapattoni’s departure as Ireland manager. In that time Houghton and Ruud Dokter, the FAI High Performance Director, went about identifying and speaking with potential candidates for the role. Throughout that process Houghton was bound to silence on the details but yesterday, speaking with Off the Ball, Houghton was free to expand on the details of the process and his interaction with O’Neill and Keane over the past few weeks.

Listen to the full interview below or download as a podcast on iTunes