Kenny Cunningham was yesterday said to be winning his fight for fitness as the Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy reassessed his problems for Saturday's European Championship game against Turkey at Lansdowne Road.

As in the case with Ian Harte who is troubled by a back strain, the Wimbledon player was not required to put his suspect knee at risk when the squad went to Clonshaugh for a morning training session. Yet McCarthy was able to report a significant improvement in the player's condition.

"His knee has not been as sore today and the expectation is it will be even less so as match day approaches," he said.

"We're going to have to wait until Friday for a clearer picture on his fitness but because it's Kenny Cunningham and because he wants so desperately to play in this game, I think he has a good chance of making it."

It is a measure of Cunningham's growing influence on the team's performance that at a time when almost half the original squad are troubled by a range of ailments, it is his name that recurs most frequently in the speculation on the consequences of having to patch up the side still further.

That, perhaps, is indicative of Cunningham's consistency since coming into the team almost three years ago.

Nowhere is his contribution prized more than with the management team of McCarthy and Ian Evans. Yet both are remarkably sanguine about the situation of having to replace the Wimbledon player.

"If Kenny doesn't play Phil Babb will and he's experienced enough and ambitious enough to make a success of the job," said McCarthy. "Players who believe that their noses have been put out of joint often thrive in the challenge of making a pertinent point or two."

Denis Irwin is expected to confirm his availability for the game by linking up with the squad this evening. Irwin, whose testimonial dinner in Manchester on Sunday evening attracted almost 600, is planning a similar function in Dublin at the end of the season.

In the meantime he's delighted with the improvement in his knee injury over the last 48 hours. "It's coming along nicely - I think it should be alright for Saturday's game," he said.

Jason McAteer and Jeff Kenna, summoned as replacements on Tuesday after Steve Staunton, Gary Kelly, Mark Kennedy and Matt Holland had all been confirmed as definite non-starters, arrived at the team hotel yesterday. Curtis Fleming, required as extra cover in defence, is due to join the squad this morning.

Fleming was in Malaga enjoying a short break with his Middlesbrough team-mates when the invitation came to make himself available. Not surprisingly he had no hesitation in joining the squad even though the chances of adding to his 10 caps are slim.

Such have been the proliferation of problems in the Irish camp that Tony Cascarino's fitness problems of late went almost unnoticed. Cascarino was out for three weeks with a damaged knee and since coming back he has played just one and a half games for his French club AS Nancy.

With McCarthy's blessing, he is staying in France to play in a club game this evening and all going well, hopes to be cleared to travel to Dublin tomorrow morning. Only then, will the squad reach its full numerical strength.

Before taking his players to Kilkea Castle outside Castledermot, where they will train today, McCarthy took time off to pay tribute to the quality of the Turkish team - and ponder the consequences of conceding an away goal next Saturday.

"I've watched videos of Turkey's last few few games, spoken with Lawrie McMenemy and Joe Jordan who went there with Northern Ireland and the consensus is that they are a very good offensive team.

"I thought they played particularly well in Germany where they might have been three up at halftime and the fact that they didn't lose a goal in two meetings with the Germans says it all about their strength at the back.

"Obviously our ambition is to win the game at Lansdowne Road without conceding a goal but I want to say here and now that it will not be the end of the world if they put one past us.

"I genuinely believe we will score in Turkey. In fact we may get more opportunities of doing so there than at Lansdowne Road where they will want to get bodies behind the ball whenever danger threatens."

A spokesman for RTE confirmed yesterday that there had been no significant development in their negotiations with the Turkish media organisation Star TV which owns the rights to next Wednesday's European Championship play-off second leg in Bursa.

RTE, along with the BBC and independent production company Setanta, is believed to have offered in excess of £130,000 for the rights, up slightly on what was paid two years ago for the away leg against Belgium. But Star remain determined that a deal will cost considerably more than that, with £750,000 still said to be the asking price.