The little press room is crowded with the great and the good of the Faroes and the good, the bad and the ugly of the Irish media.

Players slalom their way through avoiding interviews. Brian Kerr faces the TV cameras and then gathers the common hackery around a small table. "I'm glad we got out with a win. We won by the same score as the French did when we came here, we won by the same margin as the Swiss. The Swiss were drawing late in the game and scraped through. All three games were tight scraps. I'm satisfied.

"It's difficult here. I'd have settled for a win of any sort before the match looking at the conditions and knowing the way they play."

Top of the table. Kerr smiled quietly. It's been a long haul up the North Face to get there. More work to be done as well. "It's better than not being on top given that we have played seven games. With three to go we still have a chance. We'll not be expected to beat France now I'd say. We'll be underdogs. That might suit us."

He surprised even veteran Kerr watchers by throwing Stephen Elliot in for his competitive debut having apparently pointedly overlooked him on Saturday. He works in mysterious ways but he works.

"He played well in training, looked sharp for the last two or three days. I didn't think he looked well and the break hadn't done him good. The last few days he looked better and I felt the opposition were worse. I thought there would be more chances for him. At home there would be pressure too."

With the rain slanting down and the wind howling and the pitch so small and boggy the evening had the feel of one of those old FA Cup giant-killing acts. Had that permeated the dressingroom? "I wouldn't have made any excuses. I didn't care how it was set up. It was the same for both teams and the same for the teams before us. We assured we were in the right mental condition, ready for the scrap and the battle it was going to be.

"It is an awkward time for us. Players haven't played and some of them are a little bit off the boil." And the returned exile. Two goals in two games for Ian Harte. "Ian Harte? I'm glad he was available and I didn't have any doubt that he'd do a good job. Equally, we have an excellent defensive record from the other lads. Ian has come back and done well. I never had any problem there. He's a good professional player. I understand it was his first penalty since the world Cup. I didn't think of that. I just said score the bloody thing."

And the second goal? A sliver of luck? "We deserved a little more today. Tight call on offside. Missed a few easy chances in the first half and created maybe 10 or 11 in the second half. It was hard to get on target with such a bumpy pitch. We need luck some days. We didn't get it on Saturday."

Henrik Larsen the genial Faroese manager took his turn at the table. All good grace and realism.

"We played a good first half, we got pressure on the Irish lads we created some good chances in the first half. In the second half we took the teacups onto the pitch of the first 15 minutes. The first goal was a big mistake by our goalkeeper but he knows that. We played a tremendous good match and we hoped for a draw but we are happy with how we played." And he smiled and thanked everyone and suggested politely that Ireland and Switzerland had the group to win and the French had it all to do.

Music to the ears.