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BBC Newsline's Julie McCullough reports on the sacking of IFA Chief Executive Howard Wells (right) with President Raymond Kennedy.

The Irish Football Association is set to appoint an interim chief executive to succeed the sacked Howard Wells at an Executive meeting on Thursday night.

That person will be asked to steer the body for the next four to six months while a search is conducted prior to making a permanent appointment.

It is not yet clear what title will be on offer as the association may revert to the role of a General Secretary.

IFA president Raymond Kennedy is acting as chief executive until Thursday.

The governing body's 11-man board will meet on Thursday to discuss the way forward after the sacking of Wells.

One of the options open to the organisation is for Kennedy to remain in the position as a temporary measure and it is expected that the interim successor will come from within the existing IFA structure.

The re-introduction of a General Secretary is believed to be under consideration as it would involve paying a smaller salary, an option which may be looked on favourably as the organisation is understood to be around �300,000 in debt.

A brief statement from the Irish FA on Monday said that it had "terminated" the chief executive's employment in the "best interests of the association".

It was revealed in August that the Irish FA chief had taken a grievance case against his employer.

Wells claimed he had been treated unfairly because he was English and there was also a dispute over an unpaid �30,000 bonus payment.

Mr Wells, named two individuals in his complaint, one of them IFA president Kennedy, who has said that he will be acting as interim chief executive.

When contacted after Monday's IFA announcement, Wells said that "the matter is in the hands of my legal advisors and that is all I'm saying".

Wells, who was appointed by the IFA in November 2004, is understood to have earned in the region of �100,000 per annum.

Monday's two-sentence Irish FA statement did not actually include Wells' name.

Kennedy later told the BBC that he was reluctant to comment further on the issue "in case there are further implications".

He hadn't very much to say at all IFA president Raymond Kennedy on Howard Wells' reaction to his dismissal

Kennedy added that no financial settlement had been reached with the sacked chief executive.

"Absolutely not. That's why I've no comment to make about anything that would prejudice anything in that manner."

When asked about Wells' reaction to his dismissal, Kennedy replied:"He hadn't very much to say at all. There was no debating."

Kennedy added that an IFA board meeting is planned for this Thursday.

Wells became the IFA's first chief executive in November 2004 - he had held similar posts at Watford and Ipswich.

An experienced sports administrator, he was the inaugural chairman of UK Sport and also chaired the Central Council of Physical Recreation.

The Belfast-based position was created as part of the reorganisation of Northern Ireland football under the government's soccer strategy.

Wells saw his brief as modernising the IFA and ensuring that the sport was run on a sounder financial footing but his methods saw him having spats with previous association president Jim Boyce and latterly Raymond Kennedy.