DAVID CONNOLLY, the Watford striker, is expected to make himself available for selection before Mick McCarthy commits himself to a formation for tomorrow's World Cup game against Liechtenstein at Lansdowne Road.
McCarthy, now apparently converted to a policy of late team selections (the first Ireland manager to do so), has another 24 hours to ponder the make up of the side he will send out to confront the part time players of Liechtenstein.
For some at least, it's an example of apprehension taken to absurd limits, but it has to be set against lingering doubts over the fitness of Connolly and another of the manager's emerging players, Mark Kennedy.
Connolly was originally named in the starting lineup for the game against Celtic on Sunday, but was then withdrawn after a mishap during the team's prematch warm up.
A thigh strain was still sufficiently restrictive to keep him out of yesterday's training session, but player and manager are both confident that the doubts will have been dismissed by the time this morning's training stint at Lansdowne Road has ended.
Connolly, of course, approaches the match after a convincing performance in Romania where, operating as a oneman strike force, he did enough to keep the home defence on red alert for the greater part of the 90 minutes.
In doing do, he proved himself an adequate replacement for Tony Cascarino, whose fitness was in question for the games against both Macedonia and Rumania. The Watford player's late withdrawal last Sunday gave Cascarino the chance to show that he is now more mobile than in either of those two losing assignments.
McCarthy is unlikely to go with just one specialist forward for a game in which, barring the sensational, the traffic will be flowing one way towards the visiting goal.
In the ongoing absence of Keith O'Neill and Niall Quinn, a frontline partnership of Cascarino and Connolly looks the most likely combination.
Kennedy did his chances of selection no harm at all on Sunday with an explosive second half goal which brought back memories of a similar strike in an English Cup tie against Arsenal when he was still playing for Millwall.
McCarthy has always believed that, with maturity, Kennedy can grow into a formidable frontline player. Although he may not yet be at that stage, it's still possible that he is seen as somebody who can operate in the space between midfield and the front men.
Whether he gets that chance tomorrow is dependent, among other things, on his rate of recovery from a recurrence of a groin problem, sustained in the second half of the game against Celtic.
Jon Goodman, the Wimbledon player who represents another of the frontline options available to McCarthy, trained yesterday alter a recent stomach upset and will be available if required.
A winning margin of three goals would be sufficient to restore the Republic to second place in the Group Eight table, at least temporarily. Given Liechtenstein's litany of woe in the qualification series to date, that target appears to be eminently attainable.
Among the late arrivals in the Irish camp yesterday was Curtis. Fleming who returned with Middlesbrough's beaten FA Cup final team to the north east of England on Sunday before travelling to Dublin yesterday morning.
In view of Middlesbrough's luck this season, I was almost afraid to shake hands with Curtis, in case it rubbed off on us," said McCarthy, "but, yes, I'm delighted he is here and part of the squad for the game."
Present also are Andy Townsend and Ray Houghton, two of the senior members of the squad whose role in helping younger teammates to adjust to the different priorities of international football was again stressed by the manager.
"With so many young players coming into the squad, it's essential to have a core of experience available and this is where people like Andy and Ray have been particularly valuable to us," said McCarthy.
"It hasn't been easy leaving some of the other established players out of the squad, but irrespective of who succeeded Jack Charlton, this would have been an essential part of the job."
