FORGET the friendlies, this is where it all really starts for Mick McCarthy. In his first few matches in charge the new man's approach has certainly been positive enough, even if the results have been a little mixed, but all of that will count for very little if his side suffer a second setback at the hands of Liechtenstein this afternoon.
Not that that seems likely to happen, in fairness, because the players will be determined to ensure that they do not let themselves down against a side whom they know they are capable of beating quite comfortably, while they will have learned from the mistakes that they made on their first trip to Vaduz.
Looking back on it, it is fairly clear that game was the turning point in Jack Charlton's reign and the way that he approached the match was probably the clearest sign that the time for him to depart was approaching.
McCarthy's team selection demonstrates, in stark contrast, a much brighter outlook. The inclusion of several of the younger players for this game will send out all of the right signals: those who hope to establish themselves in the side at some point will know that the places are there to be grabbed if the performances are strong enough.
There is no better incentive for up and coming players than seeing that a manager's loyalty to his more experienced men is not so blind that he will not reward displays of skill and effort. This line up will also be of interest to any player across the water with an interest in playing for Ireland who might have worried about the scope for breaking into McCarthy's first XI.
This, of course, is not necessarily the first team that might spring to mind if you were asked to list the strongest players available to the Irish boss just now - and it may even be a combination of his resources that we don't see together again for the remainder of the qualifying campaign. But for the game in question, it has a very nice look to it.
If it makes a breakthrough early on, it could go quite some way towards compensating for Ireland's goalless and largely toothless performance here last year.
Right throughout the team, McCarthy has opted to be entirely positive and hand his players a licence to go out and prove what they can do.
In picking a player like Keith O'Neill up front he has decided that he wants to inject some pace into the attack, something we have sorely lacked on far too many occasions before. The decision to start Gary Breen at the expense of Phil Babb is the clearest sign of all that the big names need to perform in order to be sure of keeping their younger rivals out of the frame.
Babb is an important asset to McCarthy but in his last few outings for the Republic he has not produced a display that is close to what he is capable of, and the decision to leave him on the bench for this match might be best for all concerned in the long term.
Breen will benefit from having two players around him who are as comfortable on the ball as Irwin and Staunton. If the game goes to plan then he will have plenty of opportunity to demonstrate how well he copes while in possession himself, because the Irish should dominate in this game. McCarthy's three defenders are there to clean up and get things moving forward again.
The wing backs, Jason McAteer and Ian Harte, should end up with next to no defending to do and their role is likely to be far more geared towards getting down wide out of midfield and sending in the sort of crosses that will cause an inexperienced local defence some difficulties.
Harte probably owes his place in the starting line up to the absence of Mark Kennedy, whose terrific pace and ability to beat players would almost certainly have made him a first choice for this match. But Harte, the young Leeds player, has already shown himself to be anxious to grab whatever chances come his way and he is well capable of making an impact on this contest.
The decision to choose Shay Given ahead of Alan Kelly in goal is another signal that McCarthy is prepared to act on his hunches as opposed to the way Charlton tended to play the odds. Whether Given, who has been wonderful in his displays at this level so far, can continue to step out of his club's reserves and straight onto the international stage seems somewhat doubtful.
For now, however, it is a positive factor in the overall equation, as is the inclusion of Alan McLoughlin for this game. Alan has not always seemed to get the rewards he deserved for his efforts in the Irish set up over the years, but now he too is benefiting from McCarthy's willingness to tailor his team to the job at hand.
For a game like this you have to mix up the attacking options in order to upset the way a weaker team will have planned to cope on the day, and McLoughlin is there to get a goal from midfield. The way he arrives late in the box at speed should present plenty of problems for the hosts. And this Irish team does look capable of banging in a few goals. That will certainly be the intention, because there are those who have been saying that the Republic is fast heading into decline, and McCarthy will be keenly aware of the need to put a stop to that sort of talk.
