A sense of normality returns to the Ireland camp as the entire squad get together this morning for a routine training session at the FAI headquarters in Abbotstown.
All eyes now turn to Sunday’s important World Cup qualifier against Austria at the Aviva Stadium and while the players are back in the comfort zone of the west Dublin base camp, the journey to this point has been less than familiar.
Preparing for such a vital game a month after the majority of the squad has completed their domestic club campaign was always going to prove an organisational and logistical nightmare, although the choice of date for the game has always been out of the hands of the FAI and the Ireland management team.
But they got here. Eventually.
The past two weeks have seen a reduced squad report for a three-day intensive training camp at the Fota Island resort in Cork, before taking flight to America for a friendly against Mexico, then returning to the Aviva for Sunday’s match with Uruguay.
And as manager Martin O’Neill strolls out to observe the first training session of this very important week, the Derry man will certainly be feeling quite positive about the prospect of gaining a result on Sunday evening, which could see his side lead the group with four games remaining.
But things looked a lot different in the early hours of Friday morning when, after 55 minutes of that Mexico encounter, O’Neill’s side were trailing 3-0 in the midst of possibly the worst performance of his tenure.
As mentioned, the 11 June date could not be avoided, however, dragging the squad on a 10,000-kilometre roundtrip to fulfil a meaningless fixture could, and should never have been worked into this end of season schedule.
To O’Neill’s credit, the manager never once moaned or groaned about the Stateside sojourn and played the situation as well as possible – with the obvious exception of opting for a three-man defence.
And the formation used and performance gained in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Uruguay has now created the perfect springboard to plan for the visit of the Austrians.
Aside from the well-known injuries issues surrounding the squad, with Seamus Coleman, James McCarthy, Ciaran Clark, David Meyler and Shane Long all ruled out of the World Cup qualifier, the manager has no other major concerns.
In fact, the two fixtures gave valuable game time to important players who are returning from injuries, most notably Shane Duffy and Harry Arter, who missed large chunks at the end of their respective seasons and got to improve their match fitness.
That Mexico match may also have served as a timely reminder that this Ireland team is far from the finished article and defensive frailties remain in the heart of the defence.
O’Neill took note and it was no coincidence that his team played with a lot more structure in the opening half against Uruguay, as Arter and Glenn Whelan patrolled across the front of the back four, while the two full-backs only attacked sporadically.
But that first-half performance, no doubt, reminded the manager that his side were capable of performing against decent opposition, especially at home and it would have pleased him no end to see how, with the introduction of Wes Hoolahan, Ireland stepped up another level in the second half, playing some excellent football en route to that 3-1 victory.
O’Neill’s renewed confidence was evident in the post-match press conference as he talked about playing with positivity in next Sunday’s game.
"We've got to be on the front foot from the start of the game, we've got to take some risks in the match as well. We're at home, we've got the crowd, we have to try and win the game, he said"
The manager also hinted that the number one jersey was also potentially up for grabs as he spoke of Keiren Westwood’s patience and attitude as understudy to current keeper Darren Randolph – the latter’s first-half mistake for the Uruguay goal could prove the deciding factor for the Austria outing.
"I've got a lot of time for both goalkeepers," O'Neill said.
"From the moment that Darren's come in, that time he came on as a sub against Germany, he hasn't done a great deal wrong.
"Westwood has been waiting patiently in the wings. He's a very, very talented goalkeeper. It is just genuinely nice to have two very capable goalkeepers and there's not a great deal between them."
So while this Ireland squad has travelled half-way around the world and played two international fixtures in the build-up to Sunday’s game, by contrast, Austria have decided to forsake the friendly route and come into the game without an outing since the end of March.
And it looks as though coach Marcel Koller is starting to feel the pressure going into the game, knowing that defeat in Dublin effectively ends his side’s chances of making the World Cup next year.
Koller’s side is severely weakened with several key players missing out through injury and suspension, while Andreas Ulmer turned down his call-up, as the Red Bull Salzburg man is getting married.
"This is a public call to the players, which is a damn important game, we have to be ready and focused from the first minute of the camp," rallied Koller when he announced the squad in May.
It would appear that the Austria players might not be as fully committed to the cause as their manager would hope.
Thankfully for Martin O’Neill, those accusations could never be levelled at those who wear the green.
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