Coppell staying at Reading

Steve Coppell has ruled himself out of the running for the vacant Republic of Ireland job. The Reading boss had been suggested as replacement for Steve Staunton, who left the post on Tuesday following a disappointing Euro 2008 qualification campaign.

He said: "The stories are just people being mischievous but I did do an interview with Pat Dolan, who does the TV over there, and he asked about it.

"I just said the older I get, the more international football appeals to me. Eight games a year - I could quite happily do that.

"I also happened to mention my grandmother was Irish so to all intents and purposes I qualify."

Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt thinks Coppell could be tempted in the future: "He has enough on his hands here at the moment but maybe sometime down the line our manager might fancy it."