FAI Chief Executive John Delaney has admitted that a friendly with England before next summer’s Euro 2012 finals is now 'highly unlikely'.

Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni had given the fixture his backing, but the FA is reluctant to commit to a match in May as the two sides could meet one another in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

Delaney has confirmed that an exhibition match is in the offing, however, and could well occur in the autumn of next year at Landsdowne Road.

"The England game is looking less likely for May," he told Ken Doherty’s show on Sunshine FM.

"The fact from the English perspective that we could play them in the quarterfinals… they're not that keen to do it in May, but they're keen to come sooner rather than later after that. But it's highly unlikely that it would be May now."

Delaney was also questioned on ticket applications, as the allocations for some of Ireland’s group games has been limited to just 6,000 – a figure which could leave many fans disappointed.

"We'll get as many tickets as we can," he said. "But we won't be able to satisfy the expected demand that will come through.

“But Irish fans are genius at finding our way into football grounds."