Deery believes Derry can deliver

Uefa Cup first round, second leg: Paris St Germain (0) v Derry City (0): When you have a schedule like Derry's just now you get in your celebrations whenever the opportunity arises. So it was Stephen Kenny and his players on Monday took a few moments out of their preparations for the game against PSG to mark last week's League Cup victory with a glass of champagne.

There may well have been more bubbly on offer at the Irish embassy in Paris last night where the club's players and officials were guests at a reception thrown by the ambassador. With a game every three days or so for the next couple of months, though, the players can be sure it's the last they'll taste of the high life for a while.

Even an unlikely score draw or victory here at the Parc des Princes tomorrow night might have to go uncelebrated amongst the squad. That, though, is not a major consideration quite yet. What the team must do if they are to make history for the Irish game by securing a place in the Uefa Cup's group stages, is put a difficult week behind them and produce a performance at least as good as anything they managed in Gothenburg or Motherwell, the settings for the away wins achieved in the last two rounds.

"It's difficult, of course, but we're getting there," says Kevin Deery, the versatile 21-year-old who has been one of the team's outstanding figures this season. "To end up playing with nine men on Monday and 10 on Friday (in the League Cup and league games against Shelbourne) certainly took its toll but we had a light weekend and by the time Monday came around I think we were all beginning to feel we could pick ourselves up and do it all again.

"I've heard we're 20 to 1 to win the game with McBride's, a bookmakers in Derry, which just seems like crazy odds against any team winning one game. Obviously we're massive underdogs but we have a chance and with God's help we can get a little goal."

Deery has been one of the stars of Derry's short run to date, most memorably at Gretna where two spectacular second-half goals helped propel the northerners to the largest away win (5-1) by any Eircom League team in European competition.

"He is immensely talented," says Kenny of the under-21 international, who Steve Staunton suggested on Monday is on course for a B international call-up in November. "He also has a great attitude and is passionate which gives him an advantage over other players.

"He has been a little unfortunate," continues Kenny, "in that he has been moved around by me a bit. He probably sees himself as a central midfielder but Ciarán Martyn and Barry Molloy have done really well. Still, when I took over there was speculation he would leave Derry and go to Institute. My assistant, Paul Hegarty, was manager there and Kevin very nearly went so he has come a long way in a short time."

Now, Deery hopes he and his team-mates can show just how far they and the league have come over the past few years by surpassing Shelbourne's achievements of a couple of seasons ago and actually making it to the group phase of a major competition.

"We've done well so far partly because Stephen (Kenny) does his homework on the sides we're going to play," he says. "When we were drawn against Gothenburg we would have regarded them as European giants but Stephen did a lot of video analysis and showed us they weren't really anything to be feared.

"We're only one game away from qualifying now, like Shelbourne were a couple of years back. They did brilliantly but I really don't think PSG are quite as good as Deportivo (La Coruna) were at that stage. As it was Jason Byrne had a couple of chances but couldn't put them away and that's the lesson we have to take from Shelbourne's experience, that if you do do well enough to create a couple of chances you really have to take them"

The Dubliners tired on that occasion and were picked off through the closing half hour. Deery feels City have what it takes to battle the Parisians all the way to the final whistle.

"We've been full-time pros for the last three years and at the Brandywell we actually came good again towards the end. Obviously they have a couple of big guns back in to the side since the last game but we honestly feel we're in with a shout."

Bernard Mendy and Portuguese striker Pauletta seem likely to start but French international Vikash Dhorasoo will play no part due to his feud with PSG coach Guy Lacombe.

The story is receiving huge attention from the media here with the midfielder reportedly having taken medical notes made by the team doctor in an effort to prove Lacombe was lying when he said the player had been dropped because he was unfit. Both men have been trading insults publicly ever since.

The city's main newspaper seems unworried the dispute might distract PSG from their task with one reporter suggesting Derry are of a similar standard to teams usually found in the French second or even the regional leagues. Kenny made light of the assessment yesterday. "I'm not bothered what people are saying here," he remarked. "Anyway, I don't really know the standard of the leagues they are talking about so I can't say whether it's right or wrong."