Worried Staunton shows the strain

Managers' reaction: He'll trust that there'll be easier weeks than this, a week that saw Steve Staunton having to master the art of 'putting a brave face on it'. He did well enough on that front before last night, but with every withdrawal from the squad his repeated declaration that 'we'll just get on with it and work with what we have' was beginning to sound more weary than defiant.

What he might have hoped would be a dress rehearsal for Stuttgart next month - some fine-tuning here, a little tweaking there - was threatening to turn into not much more than an opportunity to give some of the younger crew a run-out. Not quite what the manager needed a fortnight before his first competitive game in charge.

And not even Sven Goran Eriksson was confronted with plastic Uzi sub-machine guns during his English reign. Fake sheikhs perhaps, but not plastic Uzi sub-machine guns.

Nobody had told Staunton there'd be weeks like these. Laugh or cry? He was probably tempted to do both.

With Robbie Keane, Shay Given, Damien Duff, Richard Dunne, Andy Reid, Ian Harte, Stephen Ireland, Alan Lee and Terry Dixon back at their clubs nursing injuries, Staunton must have pondered awarding himself his 103rd cap, perhaps even partnering Aiden McGeady at the centre of defence, with Paddy Kenny playing behind the front two of Steve Finnan and Stephen Kelly. In the end, though, he remained suited in the dug-out, from where, at times, he must have been reluctant to look. The week was getting considerably worse, with every passing Dutch goal, to the point where the history books were being thumbed to locate the last defeat of this magnitude. The worst in 40 years? A grim affair.

True, no Keane, Given, Duff or Dunne, but - warning: if you're of a nervous disposition look away now - up to seven of the team that began last night's game are likely to start again against the Germans. Worrying. And Staunton looked worried when he arrived to meet the press.

A hugely disappointing result? "Yeah," he says, his voice hoarse from shouting, "it was, the first half especially, we didn't get close to them. There were some positives in the second, we got a few more tackles in, but we've had a good lesson tonight. We have 17 days to go now to the German game, a lot of work to be done, but we have a lot of injuries - hopefully we'll have the majority of those players back, but we lost Stephen Carr (hamstring) and Steven Reid (ankle) tonight, just another two to add to the list."

Are you worried about the effect on the players' morale?

"Well, the pleasing aspect for me was that they kept going till the end. They kept chasing, never gave up. I was pleased with that.

"Yeah, it will be hard to pick them up but with a few club games under their belts their fitness will be better and they'll get their confidence back. Hopefully they'll learn from this, and learn what we're trying to do. I thought Aiden McGeady came into it more in the second half, and Kevin Doyle did well. They were the positives.

"These are young players . . . they'll learn."

Is Andy Reid's move to Charlton good news for you?

"Well, Andy has been injured all pre-season so he still has a lot of work to do. Please God he gets plenty of games - we need to get as many players as possible fit."

Kevin Nolan? Still an option?

"Kevin Nolan won't be playing for Ireland. The issue is done. He can't play for us."

A frustrating week?

"We made plans on Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night and we had to change them every morning. That's just the way it went . . . like any Irish team over the years we've always needed our main players, can't afford to be without them."

Exit Staunton, enter Marco van Basten.

Were you surprised how easy this victory was?

"Yeah, a bit," he said, almost apologetically. "Normally Ireland here is a difficult job, but we have won 4-0, in Ireland. But Ireland had seven players not playing, that made a big difference."

Have they have any chance against Germany?

"If they can use their big names, the players missing tonight, then for sure. Ireland has a good team that can perform well against Germany, yes."

Hmm. On to Stuttgart, then, with a limp rather than a strut.