Noel King has challenged his Republic of Ireland U21 players to keep themselves in contention for European Championship qualification as they head for Kosovo.
Ireland head for Mitrovica on Friday evening for what is their game in hand on Group Five leaders Germany, who are due in Dublin on Tuesday with three points currently separating the sides.
However, King will be without several key men, including QPR winger Olamide Shodipo, whose goal secured a 1-0 victory over Kosovo in the opening round in March last year, and he is calling for a united front.
The manager said: "The players are really looking forward to the week ahead and the squad are excited about the fixtures.
"They've got themselves into a great position going into the games and they'll look to secure more crucial points in these next two games.
"The group is missing a few players, the likes of Connor Dimaio, Olamide Shodipo and Shaun Donnellan, so they will have to come together and work hard during the week to get the results we need."
Kosovo are just two points worse off than Ireland, albeit having played two more games.
