For the first time since making his senior international debut in the Czech Republic almost 18 months ago, Robbie Keane is preparing to start an international game as a Premiership player.

And Mick McCarthy will not be alone in hoping that he marks the occasion with a performance in keeping with his reputation as one of the most gifted players of his age group.

"Premiership status of its own, does not carry any guarantees of success in international football," McCarthy said, "no more than club competition at a lower level should automatically exclude people from representing their country.

"That said, I like my players to be involved at the highest level in club football. It's no guarantee of success, as I've mentioned, but it helps when you play against the best on a regular basis.

"Robbie Keane did everything that was expected of him and, perhaps, more at Wolves. Now comes a bigger challenge still, but I've no doubt that he has the skill and the temperament to handle it."

If the 19-year-old Dubliner felt inhibited by the fact that he was surrounded by players with much higher profiles, it certainly hasn't shown in his nine Ireland appearances to date.

Comfortable and authoritative on the ball, his has been an impressive start, highlighted by the two goals he hit during the 5-0 win over Malta. That made him the youngest player to score for Ireland, eclipsing the record generally attributed to John Giles but, in fact, belonging to Dr Kevin O'Flanagan, who scored on his international debut against Norway in 1937.

Undeniably, the goals dried up for Keane in the second half of last season, when the burden of expectation as much as the growing awareness of defenders to the threat posed by the young Dubliner made virtually every game a test of character for him.

Colin Lee, the Wolves manager, was among those who railed against what he perceived as unfair demands being put on the player. But for all his heavy workload of the preceding 12 months, it didn't blight the interest of several potential buyers when Lee decided to sell his most valuable asset to balance the ledgers at Molyneux.

At different times, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Middlesbrough were said to be talking with the player's agent, but when the sale eventually materialised it was to Coventry City that he departed.

A move to Coventry didn't fit the image of one of the game's fastest climbers. Villa, it was felt, offered him the better long-term prospects if he wished to settle in the English midlands, but ultimately Lee's intransigence proved too much for even one of Jim Gregory's persistence.

Keane, a quick learner in the art of skirting the controversial, refuses to involve himself in that debate beyond confirming his delight in having at last set down in the top grade.

"It's something I've always wanted to do and to score three times in only a handful of games for Coventry makes it still more special for me," he said. "But I'm keeping my feet on the ground. A lot can happen between now and the end of the season and I want to wait and see how it works out for me."

Tony Cascarino, who also has cause for celebration today when he hopes to mark his 37th birthday with a record-breaking 84th appearance for Ireland, has no doubts about the potential of the colleague who is just half his age.

"I see in him a gifted striker who's going to play at the top level for a long time," said Cascarino. "It's not going to be easy but he has the capacity to handle it."

That, of course, is all in the long term. The immediate task is to beat Yugoslavia today and compensate for the disappointment of missing the original game in Budapest last November. And the teenager echoes the thoughts of more senior team-mates when he says that, if the Irish play to their potential, they'll win.

"Everyone in the squad is expecting a tough game. But with so much at stake, I think we're ambitious enough and strong enough to wear them down in the end."