Countdown to Macedonia begins

Following Wednesday's 2-0 success over Paraguay, Mick McCarthy was at pains yesterday to retain a sense of perspective for next month's European Championship assignment in Macedonia.

While the Republic of Ireland were outplaying the South Americans more emphatically than the scoreline suggested at Lansdowne Road, Macedonia were falling by a similar margin in another friendly game, against Albania at Tirana.

The results augur well for a big night for the Irish at Skopje on March 27th, but McCarthy is not allowing himself to be unduly influenced at the start of a long countdown to the game.

"Obviously they didn't travel to Tirana to lose the game, but I'd like to know the strength of the team that Macedonia put out against the Albanians," he said.

"Bitter experience has taught us that they are a big test for any team on their home patch and that seems to me to be a more realistic way to approach the the game."

If the Macedonians' approach to their final warm-up game remains questionable, there was certainly no lack of commitment in the Irish camp and for seasoned observers that was probably, the most gratifying aspect of all.

Friendly games in February when temperatures are falling and the legacies of heavy club programmes are beginning to pinch have never been particularly attractive to players in these parts.

Yet, the spectacle of Roy Keane and his Old Trafford clubmate Denis Irwin training in the rain and sleet at Clonshaugh and Tony Cascarino arriving from France to take a seat on the bench testified to the new, impressive sense of purpose in the national squad.

Keane, who at one stage of his career caused many to question the depth of his commitment to international football, has proved an inspired choice as team captain.

McCarthy once said that he needed a leader of the stature of Tony Adams, someone who imparted self-belief to those running out behind him and intimidated the opposition by reputation. In Keane, he appears to have fixed on the perfect specimen.

Equally important, the Manchester United player's sharply improved discipline has enabled the manager to come to terms more quickly with the substantial challenge of replacing Andy Townsend in central midfield.

With significantly fewer rushes of blood to the head these days, Keane can more readily be entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the back four, allowing his new partner, Mark Kinsella, to express the creative talents which have stamped him as one of the more gifted recruits to the team.

People who followed Kinsella's career closely from his early days at Home Farm were often mystified that it took him so long to recreate those skills at senior level. Now they have at last come on stream and the benefits to Ireland and Charlton Athletic are considerable.

There are those who believe that if Charlton go down at the end of the season, he deserves to stay up. And judged on the quality of his performances since arriving in the higher grade, there would be no lack of interest from clubs in the Premiership.

The other big bonus for the Ireland manager this season has been the development of Damien Duff and Robbie Keane. After a sticky spell at the start of the European programme, Duff began to turn things round in the game in Yugoslavia in November and he improved still further against Paraguay.

"That was Damien's best game by far for Ireland," said McCarthy. "He was comfortable on the ball, strong enough to resist even the biggest tackles and the quality of his crossing was exceptional.

"A different game, a different performance, perhaps, but I for one would have no fears for the lad in Macedonia. He's never lacked self-belief, has Duffer, and at this point you'd have to say that his confidence is well-founded."

Robbie Keane, too, has flowered under the pressure of European football and it is a measure of the expanding influence of his partnership with Niall Quinn that after a couple of early errors they gradually imposed themselves on a defence which was quite the strongest sector of the South American team.

Now, it seems, they have convinced McCarthy that they deserve to stay together for the game in Macedonia and the manager will go with a 4-4-2 formation rather than deploy a fifth midfielder.

For most, that is a realistic evaluation of the situation for with difficult fixtures against Croatia and Yugoslavia to follow, the emphasis ought be on winning the game in Skopje rather than saving an away point.