Time to get stuck in - Kelly

Ireland defender Stephen Kelly has warned his team-mates the hard work starts tomorrow night.

The 24-year-old Birmingham full-back and the rest of Giovanni Trapattoni's squad returned to Dublin yesterday to finalise their preparations for the friendly clash with Serbia at Croke Park having been put through their paces for six days under the Portuguese sun.

But if the trip to the Algarve was far from a holiday as Trapattoni assessed the players at his disposal and started to instil his philosophy into them, no-one has been left in any doubt that the real tests lie ahead.

The Republic will head for London on Wednesday ahead of their meeting with Colombia at Craven Cottage the following evening knowing the two games represent a foundation for the World Cup qualifying campaign they will launch in September.

Kelly said: 'The hard work starts on Saturday, that's what people are going to notice. People aren't going to notice what happened in Portugal, people aren't going to worry about what happened, they are just going to worry about what the result is in the game on Saturday, so it is a big one.

'It's a tough game, but it is at Croke Park and hopefully there will be a decent crowd for the new manager. It's going to be good and I am looking forward to it. Everybody is looking forward to the two games.'

Tomorrow night's match is, of course, Trapattoni's first international since taking over at the helm earlier this month, but he has wasted little time in making an impression on his players.

His list of achievements in Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria should leave no-one in any doubt as to his quality, although Kelly admits at least one aspect of his masterplan came as something of a surprise.

He said: 'Some might think an Italian manager might want you to sit back, but no, he wants everybody to press, hustle and get the ball back, which is a very Irish style of play.

'That way was very successful for Ireland teams in the past, so hopefully that will come in. When I heard he had got the job, I thought "wow, Trapattoni". When you look at his CV, the clubs he has managed, the players he has managed, they are some of the best clubs and players in the world.

'He has come to Ireland now and you have a chance to work with him. You have a chance to pick his brain and have him influence you and influence your career, not just while you are playing for Ireland.'

The Portugal training camp and the forthcoming internationals have at least taken Kelly's mind off his Barclays Premier League heartache.

He, like Reading's Stephen Hunt, Kevin Doyle and Shane Long, suffered relegation on an agonising final day of the campaign.

However, having played in every single minute of his club's 38 top-flight games, Kelly is targeting an immediate return.

He said: 'I played at a high level. I got myself to a level that I wanted to stay at and I did that all season. I played every minute, so that was great for me, it was what I wanted to achieve.

'It was disappointing to go down, but it was still a good stage of my career. It was a really good year for me, and hopefully I can continue on with that.

'I played a lot in the Premier League with Tottenham. I had to take a step back to step forward again with Birmingham. But we need to get back there as soon as possible, and the club has got everything in place to do that.'