Sanchez future still in the balance
Lawrie Sanchez is rumoured to have quit as head coach of Northern Ireland
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Thursday, 07, Sep 2006 11:01
Lawrie Sanchez's future as head coach of the Northern Ireland national team appears to be over following reports he has quit the Irish Football Association (IFA).
Sanchez refused to speak to the media after guiding his team to a historic 3-2 win over much-fancied Spain in their Euro 2008 qualifier at Windsor Park last night.
Howard Wells, IFA chief executive, explained his absence as one of "personal reasons" but refused to elaborate.
Today, Wells was similarly guarded in response to questions as to Sanchez's future although he did admit that the situation would be clarified soon.
"We are in the process of resolving some issues and will issue a statement if and when we have something to say," Wells told BBC Sport.
"Football in Northern Ireland and the future of the national team is the priority and I hope the issues can be sorted out."
Sanchez came under fire from fans and the media following Northern Ireland's disastrous 3-0 home defeat by Iceland over the weekend and Wells added "that is where all this speculation started".
"I have not had that conversation about his future with him. The speculation has not been started by the IFA but by the media," he said.
"It has been a traumatic week for Lawrie. There has been a lot of pressure following the Iceland game. I spoke to Lawrie two days ago and as far as I was concerned he was under no pressure from the IFA, me personally or the president Jim Boyce with regards to the match against Spain. That remains the position."