Avoiding defeat could again be a bonus

Steve Staunton is talking about his memories of that night in Ibaraki, when he won his 100th cap for Ireland in a 1-1 draw with Germany at the 2002 World Cup finals. The man who scored the injury-time equaliser, Robbie Keane, is sitting beside his then captain in the media centre at Croke Park. If the pair launched into a Statler and Waldorf-style reminiscing session about how perfect the old days were you could hardly blame them; they have had little to savour since on the international front.

Back then, when he was interviewed ahead of the game, Staunton said, "As long as we don't beaten that'll be a bonus." Five years on and the talk is of restoring pride, after an uninspiring campaign, by defeating the visitors in the first competitive match between the nations in Ireland. But it's hard to avoid sensing that the feeling, once again, is that a draw would be viewed as a "bonus".

Are Ireland the underdogs in this game? Staunton laughed loudly.

"Of course they're favourites, they have to be," he said of the team topping Group D, eight points ahead of Ireland with a game in hand. It's a logical assessment, but if Statler and Waldorf were of this soil they might recall fondly the days when Ireland's reputation on home turf meant they were never given less than an evens chance of victory, whatever the opponents. Underdogs in Dublin? Laughable.

"There's a perception out there that we should win every game, but we're not one of the powerhouses of soccer in the world," said the manager.

It's just over a year since that night in Nicosia and a 5-2 defeat as dire as anyone could recall. What, Staunton was asked, had he learnt since?

"Well, you're learning all the time," he said. "Yeah, it was a dark day, but we got the right reaction on the Wednesday night (in the 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic). Unfortunately we didn't . . . but we had the right performance. That's all we can do."

And the squad? Has it progressed?

"Definitely. The younger players have come in and done themselves proud. They've got a bit of experience under their belts and they know what it's all about . . . they're really looking forward to every game, every trip, so I think there's been good progress."

If the German ambassador to Ireland ruffled feathers recently by telling us a few home truths, Staunton appears to regard comments he says were reported to him by the German "delegation" that visited Croke Park for the game against Wales in March with much the same indignation.

What were the comments?

"About the crowd, the atmosphere in the ground being not very good. About the pitch being too far away from the supporters, the fans not having an effect on the team . . . but we'll use that to motivate the players."

Who made these comments? "I'm not going to name names, but it was the German delegation, very high up."

Well, with qualification for Euro 2008 out the window, at least a German delegate has provided some motivation for the tail-end of the campaign, just when one might have feared there would be none.