MICK McCARTHY will pronounce judgement on the first phase of his rebuilding programme after the Republic of Ireland complete their US Cup programme against Bolivia in the Giants Stadium in New Jersey today (kick off 2.0 p.m. local time).

It's the last chance for young players to impress before the honeymoon ends and the more serious business of World Cup qualification demands different priorities in Liechtenstein in August.

And the manager continues to offer the incentive of first team status to his emerging players as, he goes in search of his first win in eight games since accepting the intimidating challenge of succeeding Jack Charlton in January.

"By now I have a reasonable idea of the team I would like to play in Liechtenstein but nothing is so final that it cannot be changed," he said.

"Things are still evolving. Different permutations are still going through my mind and the lads going on the pitch today will be aware that another good performance can be very important.

"By this stage most would agree that we deserve a win. We've prepared well, played well and if we get the roll of the ball it may just happen for us now."

Even by the new manager's ambitious standards, the make up of the team to face the Bolivians in only the second meeting of the countries, is remarkable, with six changes from the side which started against Mexico on Wednesday.

The more startling statistic, however, is that the average age of the players is just over 21, making this quite the youngest Ireland team of modern years, if not of all time.

Only Liam O'Brien, the Tranmere midfield player, is on the wrong side of 30, a stark change from the times when maturity was a prerequisite of selection and Ireland often traded with one of the oldest teams in Europe. And given the fact that youngsters of the quality of Gary Breen, Mark Kennedy and David Connolly were left out of the side, it reinforces McCarthy in his belief that Ireland now has in place, the nucleus of a squad which can take them through the next two World Cup campaigns.

Connolly misses out today because of a second yellow card, courtesy of Raul Dominguez on Wednesday but in any event he would not have been able to play. Taking part in a training session yesterday, he went over on his ankle and will require further treatment on his return to London on Monday morning.

It means that Keith O'Neill and Alan Moore, both from Finglas, will now form the front line partnership and McCarthy is not alone in his assessment that it is one of rich potential.

Most of Moore's first team appearances at Middlesbrough have been in midfield but playing alongside Niall Quinn, he showed the kind of pace and perception to make a success of a striking role on his international debut against the Czech Republic in Prague in April.

In some respects, O'Neill's rate of improvement has been more dramatic still. From a situation in which he struggled to win a place in the under 21 team last season, he has now emerged as a player who can challenge for a place in the World cup squad within the next year.

Quick and difficult to dislodge on the ball, he epitomises the new verve in the team and the execution of his goal against Croatia was sufficiently skilled to suggest that in time he can emerge as a precious asset.

There will be keen interest also in the contribution of the 20 year old Aston Villa player Gareth Farrelly, who in the absence of Alan McLoughlin is given the job of complementing Dave Savage and Liam O'Brien in the key battle for midfield control.

Ian Harte at 18 the youngest of all McCarthy's proteges, plays alongside Alan Kernaghan and the returning Kenny Cunningham in defence and as expected Shay Given reclaims the goalkeeper's sweater after sitting out the Mexican game.

Interestingly, only Terry Phelan survives from the team which started against Bolivia in Dublin two years ago when John Sheridan's goal sufficed to ensure a home success in the run up to the World Cup finals in America.

On that occasion the Bolivians, impressed as a sound, technical team and they illustrated the point yet again in outplaying the United States 2-0 in Washington, on Wednesday.

That scoreline blighted the organisers' hopes of a showdown between Mexico and the host country for the US Cup in Pasadena tomorrow, but it is still expected to attract a crowd of 90,000 to the Rose Bowl for a game which is being covered coast to coast by ABC.

Both the crowd and the television coverage will be considerably smaller for today's offering in the Giants Stadium but that fact will not disappoint McCarthy if, at the end, he can take his team into the winners' dressing room.