WORLD CUP SOCCER MONTENEGRO v REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:THE WEATHER brightened ahead of the Irish squad's final training session in Wehen, south west Germany, yesterday but the sunshine could hardly have prepared Giovanni Trapattoni's men for the temperatures that awaited them in Podgorica, where they arrived at teatime last night.

The sight from the plane of wild fires in the mountains 30 miles from the Montenegrin capital and the arid landscape further inland will have provided a good pointer of what they can expect.

The blast of heat that greeted the players as they stepped off the flight at what was only half an hour or so before tomorrow's scheduled kick-off will have quickly brought it home to them how much harder they are going to have to work in their second outing of the campaign.

Temperatures hit 34 degrees yesterday, but the hotel staff cheerfully revealed that was somewhat cooler than it was at the weekend.

On the injury front, there was good news for Trapattoni with Shay Given, Stephen Hunt and Kevin Doyle all coming through the morning training session before travelling. While Steven Reid sat the session out to rest a slightly troublesome knee, the Blackburn Rovers midfielder is not a major doubt for Ireland's second game of the campaign tomorrow evening.

The 26-year-old will be needed for there is a growing sense that, in the wake of a somewhat deflated Georgian performance, tomorrow's game could, by some margin, be the tougher of the two for the Irish this week.

"I think most people would say that," says Andy Keogh, the young Dubliner who won his seventh cap when he replaced Aiden McGeady late on Saturday night. "They're bottom seeds in the group but we all know that's just because they are a new country. They were very good when they were joined with Serbia and I think it will be tough.

"It's only their second competitive game as a new country so they'll be well up for it. And with us coming to their place they're definitely going to be looking to win in front of their fans."

Keogh looks like the sort who might suffer more than most in the heat but the 22-year-old is confident he'll cope if Trapattoni opts to change his starting line-up.

Even if he doesn't the Wolves player, who can play either out wide on the right or up front, believes his career at this level is moving in the right direction.

"It's just good to know that I'm in his plans at the moment," says Keogh, who has started one and come on in another two of the manager's four games to date. "I just have to keep working as hard as I can to make sure I stay in them."

"In training, though, he gives me little pointers. You might do something and he'll tell you how to do it a little bit better. He does it with all the lads. It's the way he is, it's good."

Trapattoni's ability to communicate fully with his players has been questioned but while Keogh admits it can sometimes get a little bit unorthodox with the Italian, he is adamant the players end up getting the message.

"He's getting better at English," he says. "Even though it doesn't make sense at times, you do understand what he's saying. And on the pitch, sometimes you don't need to talk the same language, he just shows you with the ball.

"He's out there with his boots on every training session, so there's no confusion there at all. Sometimes he'll be talking in English and finish in Italian because he doesn't know the English word but someone will help him out.

"His enthusiasm is obvious and it rubs off on the lads. Make no mistake about it, the boys are pumped, we want to get to the World Cup."

Republic of Ireland under-21 captain Eddie Nolan admits his team must improve considerably from their last outing if they are to take anything from their game against Portugal in Estadio dos Barreiros, Funchal, Madeira tonight (kick-off 6pm Irish time).

Ireland hope to round off their Uefa Championship qualifying campaign on a high but go into the match bottom of Group Three.

Portugal still have a hope of securing one of the four best runners-up spots behind England, and Nolan knows they will be played off the park if there is a repeat of the performance in the 2-0 defeat away to Bulgaria last week.

"It was my first time captaining the team, so it was just so disappointing we didn't perform", the Blackburn defender said.

Portugal beat Ireland in Cork last September and are expected to go for a similar line-up, while Ireland's squad contains only three players - Nolan, Stephen Gleeson and Owen Garvan.