Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny said he needs "clearly defined" roles in his backroom team, with Robbie Keane's involvement in the new set-up now looking increasingly unlikely.

Keane, who remains under contract with the FAI, has been in limbo since Mick McCarthy handed over the reins to Kenny last weekend.

The new manager has named Keith Andrews as his assistant, with Damien Duff also part of the shake-up.

Jim Crawford has replaced Kenny as the Under-21 manager and though the FAI are not ruling out finding a role for Keane, a position within the senior infrastructure now looks highly unlikely.

"I have the height of respect for Robbie Keane and I've always got on fine with Robbie," Kenny told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue.

"Listen, he’s been our greatest ever goalscorer... it was just that I wanted my own backroom team, simple as that.

"Keith Andrews is my assistant. We’ve worked together for the last 15 months with the under 21s and we’ve got a tremendous rapport, get on very well. For me, I’m into clearly defined roles as a management team, I don’t like crossover roles."

Kenny also said he would not compromise his footballing philosophy. His ability to get teams playing expansive, brave and courageous football has many Irish fans excited about what he will do with the seniors.

The Dubliner is ready to stick to his guns.

Stephen Kenny chatting to Tony O'Donoghue in Louth on Thursday

"We’ll have a very definite way of playing," he said.

"Life is short and you only get one chance at this. I won’t have any fear coming into this. I want my team to play completely without fear.

"This is not a stepping stone for me. This is it. This is the ultimate job. This is the job you would dream of. This is a tremendous opportunity. Irish fans, we’ve got tremendous support, and I think they want to look forward to coming to the Aviva and seeing a team pass the ball, really open up and really entertain them.

"My job as manager, I feel that’s part of your remit - to get players to fulfil their potential - that people look forward to coming, that it’s a real thing that we can go and can try and dominate games.

"I’m not a celebrity, I’m just a football coach, that’s all I want to be. I’m just looking forward to working with the players. We’ve got a great group of players, I’m honoured to work with them. It’s my job to unlock the potential of the whole team and I intend to do that."