Tórshavn rises up out of the sea in a series of hills through which are threaded little streets and alleys and the makings of a small town. It's a straight line from the media hotel to the little football complex - the sight of which, as is usual on these trips, sets media and blazers agreeing that it puts anything in Ireland to shame.

But it's easy to get lost because the town dips and rises so dramatically that even a football stadium disappears from view, tucked away as it is in its own little hollow.

In the little press room where we gather we have an eye level view of the pitch upon which tonight's game will be played. When the Irish saw the pitch on Monday night mournful quotes came floating back about the narrowness and the shortness and the wildness. It was like a truncated version of the AUL five years ago. Woe, woe and more woe.

Yesterday, they trained on the scutchy apron and, as they are paid to do, just got on with things. Damien Duff, whose trade more than most depends on the quality of the surface it is plied on, was philosophical.

Maybe he's played on better, but when you grow up in Dublin where the much maligned AUL is a field of dreams for some, you have definitely played on pitches which have no right to call themselves pitches.

"I thought the pitch was alright this morning," he said with his trademark shrug. "I've played on worse. The French and Swiss have come here and won. There's no reason why we shouldn't be thinking of doing the same."

Fundamentally Damien Duff is unchanged and unfazed by his time at Chelsea. He's still the man you'd put money on to miss Chelsea's celebration open bus tour because he was in Korea trying to remember where he'd left his passport. He has acquired, though, a certain sense of impatience.

His tone recalls a comment of Roy Keane's a few years ago when he wondered why the fact that so many Irish players put up with things and were easy-going about things didn't reflect itself in their careers in England and the clubs they settled for playing with.

At the time Duff, snug and happy at Blackburn, could have taken umbrage. Now he is a Premiership winner and he likes the world to have more certainties in it. He is asked which position he likes playing in the best. Given that he ended the game on Saturday as a striker and might start tonight as a striker you expect him to dodge and offer some faff about the honour of playing anywhere.

"The wing is my preference," he says firmly, "left or right. That's obvious. That's where I'm most effective. I've spent a lot of the year playing on the right for Chelsea. I work best out wide. Everyone knows I'm best played out on the wing."

Having made his point he adds the usual rider. He'll play anytime, any place, anywhere. "It's not a problem. I'll play anywhere for my country."

It's not a problem and he's not a kid anymore and his tone about this entire double-header week suggest that he is a man who has begun to assess his career by means of visits to the big stages. He's had one World Cup. Suddenly, a second one isn't guaranteed. Why beat about the bush?

"We were devastated on Saturday to put it mildly, but we're determined to come here and put it right. At Chelsea this year maybe a lot of teams have to play us and every game for them has been like a cup final.

"All the games have been that way for us, though. We treat every game like it's a cup final. It's the same in this campaign. On Saturday, we gave the game away. We let in two crap goals."

His impatience with the world is evident now. He is tossed a straightforward one about the influence which the returning Roy Keane will have on the side.

"You don't need me to tell you about Roy Keane." he says.

We have been leaned over our notebooks waiting to write down the usual platitudes and as a group we look up in shock.

On he goes. Rat-a-tat-tat. Robbie Keane: "He's a top scorer. I can't believe he hasn't played more for Spurs this season.We'll miss him."

And finally he turns the gun on himself. "I haven't scored in 10 games. I've been setting up goals alright, but I haven't scored. I'm due a goal. We could do with that goal over here. As Brian has said they'll sit back and pack the midfield. It will be tight out there, but we have four games left. It's in our own hands. No top team has beaten another top team yet.

"We're not here to throw anything away. Not winning is something we don't think about."

He's up and he's gone. 100 per cent proof. No more Duff Lite.