A chill November night of soft words, sweet goals and malnourished streakers

A chill November night of soft words, sweet goals and malnourished streakers. Mick McCarthy can hardly have put in a more stress free evening at Lansdowne Road. The Irish manager strolls in leisurely, suited and holding a hot coffee, steam thawing the atmosphere. As the Dart rattles overhead, he dispenses easy compliments. "I think three goals probably flattered us to be honest but good goals. Kevin . . . great to see him, I picked on him the last time and had a little jibe at him today and he's got his goal. And of course Stan's goal was the icing on the cake really, to cut a cliche."

As he goes into goes into the Christmas recess, McCarthy could be forgiven for assuming that the most turbulent days are behind. This win will soon be eclipsed by the torrid nights that lie ahead but nonetheless sees Ireland stretch an unbeaten sequence to seven games.

"Yeah, well, it's a nice statistic to have," he shrugs.

"What is nice is that we got five points from our first three games. Yes, this was really nice to win. I think the Finns are a good team., they brought a strong team and I'll take it."

"I was looking to stop Litmanen from causing us problems and it did that. It can be difficult though, when you change things like that and unfortunately, Robbie got a little bit isolated up front. With 20 minutes to go, Mattie Holland at last realised that I didn't want him to go looking for the ball along with Kinsella and Carsley but to supplement the attack. After we did that, we began to look tidier. And it finished 3-0 but if we had stopped them playing and won 10, I'd have taken that."

In the grand scheme, the details will be quickly washed away but little glints of future promise caught the managers eye. His first comments fall on one youngster.

"I thought Mark Kinsella was excellent and I wouldn't want to detract from his man of the match performance but Steve Finnan must have pushed him for it," he declared before embarking on an endorsement that would enhance any C.V.

"What do I like about him? His ability for a start. He has energy, got a touch, puts a foot in, has that ability to get a cross in. He's an intelligent footballer and is a terrific lad as well."

Not that the plaudits were confined to the new order. Steve Staunton warmed the tail end of an icy evening of the old ground with a vicious shot that was redolent of the old days.

"Stan and I go back a long way," McCarthy reminded us with a grin.

Challenging for places is a contentious issue in the Irish dressing room at the moment. Too many of McCarthy's potential regulars are in the cold at club level. For now, the manager is content to judge them with that in mind.

"Dominic Foley is a lad who is playing in the reserves at his club," he pointed out.

"Not getting regular football and he comes in here at international level and it's something you should realise: Dominic's done quite well. You can't just switch it off and on. He hasn't performed as well as he did in the summer but if he can get regular football, he has something to offer us."

A final word about the central pairing that could do no wrong in the white heat of Amsterdam and Lisbon. Last night, Breen and Dunne looked a touch threadbare. Maybe they just eased off.

"Possibly," acknowledged McCarthy.

"Tis difficult. The pressures of the last three games were very intense but prior to this game, I realised how much I had enjoyed that."

It's good to hear. Plenty more heart strains down the road.