Giovanni Trapattoni may have broken with one tradition by not naming his team the day before a game, but he will ask his players to stick with what they know best against Spain on Thursday night.
The 11 men who line up against the reigning World and European champions will once again be under instructions to play with the "mentality" he has instilled in them since he became manager in 2008.
Trapattoni said he would wait until tomorrow to name his team for the game in Gdansk, although it is widely believed that Robbie Keane will start as a lone striker in front of a five-man midfield.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Gdansk this evening, the Italian said his team could pull off a surprise if they approach the game with the proper commitment and attitude.
He said: "I am proud to be the manager of the Irish players because the Irish players have heart.
"But we have achieved results not only with heart because we have met France, Bulgaria, Italy, many other teams and we played the same. We play our football.
"It's creative enough and it's technical enough. Maybe Spain have one or two more creative players, but football is not only about creative players.
"Today, football is about balance on the pitch and strength with attitude and also luck.
"In the first game, we were unlucky - there was a very clear penalty against Robbie - but we didn't get it.
"We have attitude, mentality, commitment, technical ability. We don't make bets, but I think we can win. Why not?"
The defeat to Croatia in the opening game has been consigned to history, he said, and the players believe they can thwart the Spanish and get the result they need, despite the undoubted quality of the opposition.
Trapattoni said: "I think psychologically, we have overcome the defeat against Croatia. Yesterday in training, I saw the same commitment and enthusiasm in the team.
"We are back to believing in ourselves and our quality.
"Spain is a team with a lot of good technical players, we know, and it will be very important not to give them much space, particularly in midfield.
"They are very good passing, they play the ball very fast and I have to think about the best solution for us for this game.
"Our objective is to be offensive and try to win the game, but at the same time, we need also to find a way to help the midfield because sometimes. We have suffered in this situation.
"I have already said we have to believe in our quality, our attitude, our performance.
"We will play to win, but we know also it is difficult because we know Spain are the World champions and they have very important players.
"In football, over ten months it's possible for a strong team to win, but in 90 minutes, anything is possible."
Several of the players have said this week that they have "nothing to lose" against the Spanish, but Trapattoni was eager to point out that they would not be bombing forward at every opportunity.
Rather, the approach will be to sit tight, close off space and do as much as they can to frustrate their illustrious opponents, while also giving them the respect they deserve.
He said: "Having nothing to lose does not mean we are not aware of the capabilities of our opponents.
"When I first came to Ireland, I said if having nothing to lose means everyone just pouring forward gung-ho, all-out attack and conceding five goals, that means you are not really aware of the fact of who you are playing.
"A coach needs to be aware of how his own players play and their qualities. I have already said quite enough of this. We are going to play our own game in the knowledge of how good Spain are."
Although he kept the card of team selection close to his chest, Trapattoni was confident enough to make pronouncements on how his opposite number, Vicente Del Bosque, would approach the game.
The Italian expects that either Fernando Torres of Fernando Llorente will play as a striker tomorrow night, as Del Bosque dispenses with his much-talked-about 4-6-0 formation.
"I think Del Bosque will play with Llorente or Torres," declared Trapattoni.
"The first game was a very important 90 minutes and I think Del Bosque knew how to approach the game against Italy.
"It was a very technical game and Del Bosque was hoping to rely on the quality of players such as Iniesta, Xavi, Silva and Busquets.
"But he could see that Torres was missing, so he changed it to get a striker up there. I think in the second game, Del Bosque will play a striker."
Ireland need at least a point or their Euro 2012 adventure will be over at the group stages, but Trapattoni still believes that they can pull off a minor miracle and progress to the quarter-final.
He said: "We can hope. We have a very delicate situation now. We are playing against a very strong team but if we win tomorrow, we can have another attitude.
"Italy and Spain after the first game each have one point. At this moment, it's all open. Only after tomorrow can we say if we have an opportunity or not."
