FAI sources have confirmed that Dalglish was not one of the seven candidates officially interviewed for the job.

It's not clear whether Dalglish's absence from the final shake-up was his decison or made by FAI's managerial advisor Bryan Hamilton.

Brian Kerr was the first candidate to be interviewed for the job last week and is now viewed as being in real contention along with Bryan Robson and Philippe Troussier.

Robson and former Japan boss Troussier were interviewed this week along with Kevin Moran, Peter Reid, Frank Stapleton and John Aldridge.

FAI officers Milo Corcoran, John Delaney and Kevin Fahey conducted the final round of interviews on Wednesday and Thursday and had hoped to make a decision on Friday.

However, the latest internal crisis to engulf the FAI means the appointment could now be delayed until next week.