Kevin Kilbane believes Ireland's latest crop of youngsters can cement their places in the national side for years to come with a strong showing on tour in America this week.
Kilbane captains a makeshift and inexperienced Ireland side against Ecuador tonight (1.00am Irish time) in an international friendly at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, a situation the Wigan Athletic midfielder believes draws parallels with a US trip during Mick McCarthy's tenure as manager.
Kilbane, now the senior statesman in a 20-man squad missing 25 potential players, was part of a young squad then including Shay Given, Richard Dunne and Robbie Keane.
He said: 'We went away in 2000 with Mick and in many respects it was the making of us all.
'We managed to kick on together as a team and as a squad from there and I'm sure one or two of the faces here will be looking to establish themselves in the coming years.
'I was the same, I was very inexperienced in that squad and I managed to retain my place for the games after that and that's what these lads are trying to do now.
'There's a lot of opportunities for these younger players to come for the experience and make their mark.
'They're showing it in training every day. It's been good in training, they're coming onto the pitch and making their mark and getting on with it. These couple of games could be good for everybody.'
Manager Steve Staunton has not named his team but will hand debuts to at least Birmingham City goalkeeper Colin Doyle and Wolverhampton Wanderers' midfielder Darren Potter.
There are certain to be more newcomers, if not tonight then against Bolivia in Boston on Saturday, and such is the unfamiliar make up of the squad that Kilbane - who will win his 79th cap at Giants Stadium - admitted he was still familiarising himself with his players.
'I'm still not quite there with all the names,' he said, although Staunton believes Kilbane is just the right person to mentor a squad of such little experience.
'Kevin's a good talker, a good leader,' the manager said.
'He's got a good way of handling himself with the other players and it's part of the role of becoming a senior player when you have the young lads around.'
