Ireland boys working and living in sweet harmony

The atmosphere on Tuesday night was understandably subdued around the pool at the Irish team hotel in Ayia Napa as the players, with Noel O'Reilly and occasionally Dean Delaney or Robbie Keane on guitar, got together for their traditional post-match singsong. Feet dangling in the water, arms wrapped around each other, the gathering was an attempt to rebuild morale, but there was no mistaking the air of gloom that hung over everybody concerned.

A dozen or so Irish journalists and a variety of other officials and friends were invited along, but there was a distinct sense of intrusion as the outsiders sat a few feet away from players who appeared to have missed out on their dream of a place in the final of the European Championship.

The English players, who had won that evening's game between the two sides in Derynia 1-0, didn't bother to watch from their balconies as they had done after Ireland's win over Croatia the previous Sunday. And it must have sounded pretty good to them as they lay three floors above in their beds.

Better at least than Thursday's often repeated chorus of `And it's home, boys, home, home I'd like to be, home for a while, in the old country . . . ." It was sung with particular venom as the players jumped joyously up and down together in the centre of the pool while pointing at one at the windows above.

It took an intervention from O'Reilly to calm things down. "Come of lads, keep it down, there's some people trying to get an early night tonight because they've a lot of travelling to do tomorrow," he pleaded mockingly. The request was greeted with laughter and cheers.

There had been a bit of needle between Ireland and England before they met and a 1-0 defeat, the Irish players believed, meant that a year of gloating would have to be endured from team-mates back at their English clubs next season. Subsequent events altered the landscape utterly. Although there's still a spot of gloating to be done at training pitches up and down England over the coming months.

Yesterday, the rivalry had been set aside as an English team official passed on his scouting reports on Germany to a counterpart from the FAI.

Meanwhile, some of Brian Kerr's side chatted about the remarkable team spirit that has been fostered over the days, weeks and months leading up to this final.

"What we do at Celtic in training is exactly the same as we do here," explained Ger Crossley, a quiet-spoken teenager from Belfast who made a dozen or so appearances for Northern Ireland at under-15 level before transferring his allegiances. "But here there's just a really strong sense that we're all in this together."

Aside from the sing-songs, training is, with a panel dominated by players from Dublin, based on competition between northside and southside players. In these games Thomas Heary from Donnycarney and Robbie Keane from Tallaght find themselves on opposite sides of the fence, but both are clear about how they have benefitted from the way the squad has been moulded together by Kerr and O'Reilly.

"We came here expecting to do well," says Heary, "because we believe that we have good players and that we've come together at the right time, but a lot of what has happened is down to spirit and Brian is certainly one of the best managers I've ever worked with. I played for the team when Maurice Price was in charge, too, and he was great, but they are two very different characters. Brian manages to blend totally in with the players and so he gets a great reaction from them."

The very fact that Keane is here in Cyprus says something about Kerr's ability to keep a team together. Wolves didn't want Keane to travel to these championships at a time when they had some pre-season plans of their own for one of their most valuable assets.

"It was out of my hands, between the FAI and the club, and here I am, which I delighted about because it's always an honour to go out on a pitch representing my country."

Keane dismisses suggestions that this level should now be considered below him because of his success in breaking into the senior national side. "Playing, say, against Argentina is everybody's dream. Playing against players like Ortega and Batistuta was great, particularly at my age, but this is very important, too. I'm representing my country here nd we're in a European final. That's a dream come true, too. If can win on Sunday it's something that we'll have for the rest of our lives."

The Germans will be motivated by precisely the same sort of thinking, but if they lose tomorrow's final it may begin to dawn on them why when they're in bed and hear the distant but unmistakable sound of young Irishmen singing them to sleep from down below.