The key to Staunton’s initial first few months in charge of his four-year contract will be whether he can command respect as a manager.

It again brings into question his inexperience at managerial level, despite a glorious playing career.

But Staunton knows he has to put his friendships to one side if he is to become a success.

Defiantly, he said: “It’s very easy for me to tell somebody what to do and where to go. I have always had that in my make-up.

“There will sometimes be difficult decisions, but I have a great advisor who will guide me in what to say and how to say it.

“There might be occasions when I’m a bit naïve in what I say to a player, but we have to keep them on board.

“It’s not as if I’ve £20m (€29.2m) I can go out and spend on players. We need everybody on board who is Irish, and who wants to play for this country.”

This is why Staunton will be heading down what he describes as ’the granny route’, exploring the family tree of players to see if they qualify to play for the Republic.

“We want to get a squad together to take us forward, and that includes looking into the grandparent ruling, which I feel strongly about,” added Staunton.

“It’s served us very well in the past. As we all know, as a small nation we’ve all had uncles and aunts who had to move away, so why shouldn’t their kids be proud to play for this country as well?

“My own kids are English-born, but if somebody said to me they could not play for Ireland, then I would not be very happy.

“There are one or two we are looking at, and through our contacts we will be putting in calls into people we know in the game and getting them to see if there are players with the right backgrounds.”

After failing to qualify for the 2004 European Championships and this summer’s World Cup, resulting in Brian Kerr’s departure in October, the odds at this stage are long on reaching the Euro 2008 finals.

Staunton is already warning of the difficulties that lie ahead, seeing his role in the long term and qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“We are looking to the future,” insisted Staunton, who turns 37 on Thursday.

“We’re not daft. We know qualifying for the European Championships is going to be very difficult, but we are going to give it our best shot.

“Ultimately, we are looking at 2010. We’re looking at developing players and bringing them through and being ready for that tournament, not that we won’t be ready for the next one coming.

“Don’t get me wrong. We are here for that tournament too, but we have to look to the future.”

Bobby Robson has no doubts Staunton is the right man for the position, conceding they clicked when they first met.

Unlike a more cautious Staunton, he is optimistic Ireland can qualify for the 2008 European Championship finals in Switzerland and Austria.

“I think it’s been a great decision to appoint this lad, an Irishman in charge of the Irish national team,” said Robson.

“That’s a great advantage and we mustn’t lose that advantage.

“Steven is talking about a four-year plan, which it is, but the Euro Championships come into that.

“We now want to ensure in the next two years we give ourselves a great chance of qualifying for the European Championships.”