Football World Cup: QUINN: SELF-CONFIDENCE KEY.

Byline: IAN PARKES

NIALL QUINN has insisted that Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy's supreme selfconfidence would have proved decisive in his personal war of words with disgraced captain Roy Keane.

McCarthy's very public ``slanging match'' with Keane at what was supposed to be a conciliatory meeting led to the talismanic midfielder being booted out of Ireland's World Cup squad.

Keane returned home to Manchester alone yesterday, with a little help from his club Manchester United who laid on their private plane for the 31-yearold's disposal.

Keane has since claimed he has ``no regrets'' at levelling the kind of abuse at McCarthy which prompted his sensational expulsion on Thursday.

Given Keane's volatile char-acter and his influence over the other players in the squad, many lesser managers might have buckled - but not McCarthy.

Striker Quinn, Ireland's alltime leading scorer, has known McCarthy over many years as both a player and now a manager, and recognises the qualities of the gruff, no-nonsense Yorkshireman.

Quinn, who makes his international swansong at the World Cup, said: ``He is a very sincere, solid man.

``I've said to one or two of the guys that if I needed to confide in someone then he would be the first I would pick out. He is very genuine.

``We used to think that as a player he was too serious. But you realise now he was cut out for management because of that.

``On the pitch Mick was a huge influence. He organised things better than anyone I've played with - at least until Roy Keane came along.

``I've never played with anyone who was doing the stuff he did, like barking orders out consistently, frightening the referee, the linesmen and the opposing players, while at the same time he had everybody doing their job.

``Off the pitch, the rest of us used to head out as soon as we had the chance, but Mick was discussing matches and coaching patterns. We used to think `oh God, put the ball away!' ``But he has now chilled as a manager and qualifying has been brilliant for him.

``There was a fabulous picture in most of the papers where he had tears in his eyes. People were saying that was the first time they had seen a soft side to him.

``I remember in Italy (in 1990) he didn't get that emotional.

When the penalties were going in, David O'Leary was crying his eyes out, as was Packie Bonner, while Mick was going `get yourself sorted for the next one'.

``But that was the first time I had seen him show emotion.

Having missed out by a hair's breadth on qualifying for the last two tournaments, he said he knew he could do it, and I think that's why the tears probably came.

``Now he is a supremelyconfident person. He has always lived on his confidence and believed he could do things - but there's just that little edge that he knows it now.''

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