SOCCER ANALYST:IN THIS game, at this level, it is all about results. So, credit where credit is due: a 4-0 win away from home is beyond the wildest expectations of anyone and Ireland – the team, the manager, the FAI, the supporters and the whole country – can finally bask in some glory and the feel-good vibe it will engender.

With this scoreline, the job is already more than half-done.

Sure, you can come away from a game you won by four goals and say, “We must have played very well”. The truth is, we didn’t. The breaks went for us and we scored the goals at the right time.

But, having said that, you have got to give the manager credit for what he has done for the team.

Giovanni Trapattoni has seen what he thinks are the strengths and the weaknesses of this team and he has them playing to a system.

At the start of the campaign, if you’d said we finish second to Russia and get to a play-off and get through on that it would be a big success. It is, and to win 4-0 away in international football is tremendous.

Let’s be honest. We know we are not going to come to watch Ireland under Trap pass the ball and keep possession. But, as the team has shown right through this qualifying campaign, we are very, very capable of getting results and that’s a big thing in football. That’s what really counts.

As I’ve said, a lot of credit has go to Trap. If you look at the game, Estonia were probably better on the ball than us, yet they didn’t have a chance in the game. Defensively, we were very, very sound, not just the back four; from front to back we were very solid, and against weaker opposition like this we took the chances that came our way.

My concern is we give up so much possession against good sides, like we did against Russia, they will tear us asunder.

That’s not a concern for now, it is just a worry for when we go to the finals in Poland and Ukraine and see what group we get.

If we’re looking for the plus, and it’s a big plus, we have gone away from home and won 4-0. We’ve had horrendous luck in play-offs over the years so it was a great night and one to be savoured and enjoyed by everyone associated with Irish football.

Trapattoni’s aim at the start of the campaign was to try to qualify us for a major tournament and that’s what he has done.

We are there, and he has got the team playing to a certain system. He firmly believes in it and every player has bought into it. The manager has to be given great credit for that.

Personally, I believe we have better players and we are better than we showed in relation to retention of the ball. But, obviously, he doesn’t believe that. And he has them playing to a system and it has worked. And, in this game, it is results that count. So you can’t argue.

The second goal from Jonathan Walters was so important. At the time, it looked like they were getting on top and retaining the ball and gathering up a bit of momentum. But that goal killed them off, and then the second sending off completely demoralised them.

The goal came from good play with good movement.

The disappointing thing from a football point of view is that I think we are better than that.

Now that we have qualified, and the pressure was to qualify, maybe players will go and express themselves a bit more. I don’t see it that way, though. The manager has a game plan and you stick to it and if you don’t stick to it you don’t play. The fear is that going in against better sides they are going to hurt you.

If you didn’t watch the game and you saw the result, Ireland 4-0 away, you would say, fantastic result. And that’s what we have to treat it as. It is a fantastic result. The plus is the financial rewards for the FAI and the country and the goodwill factor going into the finals is a big thing. The supporters have followed the team all over the world and deserve great credit.

And, again, you have to hand it to Robbie Keane. You listen to people going into Lansdowne Road and you hear them criticise him and you just wonder what they know about football. He turns up every time, whether it is a friendly or a competitive game, and he scores. They may say he scores against the weaker teams, but sometimes they are the harder ones to put away. His record is phenomenal.

And now you are looking at Shay Given, Robbie, Richard Dunne, Kevin Kilbane if he is around, all great servants to their country, and qualifying for another major competition is a great way to finish their international careers.

It’s about qualification and getting results and that’s what the manager has done. Give him credit. It is great all round.