'Mustn’t grumble', may well be Mick McCarthy’s motto as he embarks on his second stint as Ireland manager.
The former Ireland captain took the job last November following Martin O’Neill’s departure, and has had to wait until now, almost four months on, to have his first official interaction with the squad.
McCarthy has, in the meantime, faced the press on several occasions and while the Yorkshire native has endeavoured to bring a positive and most jovial atmosphere to proceedings, it appears that the big man’s patience is being tested.
In the build-up to Ireland’s opening encounter in the Euro 2020 qualifiers, McCarthy finally got to lead a training session in Dublin, with most of his squad togged out and ready to go on Monday morning in Abbotstown.
Seventeen years have passed since McCarthy bowed out as Ireland manager, and while the intervening years have kept the 60-year-old very busy in the club scene in England, it appeared evident that the manager was very happy to be back wearing the green and directing the action ahead of the upcoming double-header against Gibraltar and Georgia.
"I loved the atmosphere with the lads, the banter they are all having, the little boxes and the warm-ups, just being at close quarters with players," said McCarthy, speaking at this afternoon’s post training press conference.
"I enjoy being with them, I enjoy watching them, and interacting with them. It’s great. I’ve enjoyed my morning."
And while accentuating the positives, it appeared a more testing task to eliminate the negatives as the manager was reminded of Ireland’s annus horribilus in 2018 where the national side only won one match from nine played, and that being a friendly encounter against an American team in transition.
McCarthy appeared bemused that any form of negativity would be mentioned mere moments into a new regime and before a ball had been kicked in anger throughout the upcoming campaign.
"I never even considered it," replied McCarthy, slowly in that emphatic Barnsley brogue.
"It’s only yourself who is mentioning the negativity. It’s got nothing to do with me what happened before. It’s up to me to get positive results and get people smiling again. It’s my responsibility to change that.
"I’m looking forward, I’m not considering what went on before. I’m not concerned at all by it. I’m hoping I can change that."
If dealing with his predecessor’s poor record caught the new manager off guard, the next question certainly came in from left-field when McCarthy was asked whether he often thought about the time that his side missed out on Euro 2000 qualification on a dismal night in Macedonia.
McCarthy’s press conferences often became entertaining affairs throughout his time managing Wolves and more recently, Ipswich, and on another day, that question may have created a similar sideshow.
But there was an element of relevance to the question with Saturday’s opponents similarly considered, where anything but a victory will be seen as a disaster for Ireland and McCarthy’s new regime.
"I was going to be quite offensive to you then," said McCarthy through slightly gritted teeth. "I only [think about it] when people bring it up.
"I was going to say something other than ‘people’ there. We had the shirt with ‘I’ve had a Macedonia’ on it, but since then I’ve had a few good results as well. It would be remiss of you to remind me of a night like that, when I’ve had more nights since that that have been positive ones.
"I’ve won the Championship twice and nobody ever mentions that, being in the Premier League. Had a pretty good time since. Oh, we qualified for the World Cup as well.
"Thanks for reminding me of one of my worst nights."
McCarthy, proceeding with caution, perhaps, did offer an insight into how the next week and a half might play out, first in Gibraltar and then his opening home game against Georgia next Tuesday.
The manager has yet to reveal his masterplan to the assembled squad, however, a meeting looked set to follow once the entire selection were in attendance, and while McCarthy would not elaborate, there was a hint of what the players might expect.
"I’m not going to be teaching them how to play football," said McCarthy.
"All I can do is give them a template of what I want them to do in the games and how we should play and how we can maximise what we have got, to try to get the best possible results. And I think we can do that with the time that we have got."
McCarthy also admitted that he had "an idea" of how he would send his side out on Saturday, but was anxious to see all his players on the training pitch before he would make a final decision.
And while his predecessor was known to keep players in the dark until the last minute as to whether they were playing or not, it would appear that McCarthy’s men will be very aware of their own situation in plenty of time before the match.
"They’ll know the team pretty early," said McCarthy, who also accepted that he would have to plan for two very different teams over the coming ten days.
The manager would not commit to both games being must-win encounters, citing Georgia’s improving performances and results in recent years, however, it was clear that he expects nothing less than three points from the trip to the Iberian peninsula next weekend.
"They are certainly two different teams that we are playing against. The way that they play and the standard that they are. But the first thing is to concentrate on Gibraltar as they will be making it as difficult as they can for us.
"We have to make sure that we win and have a good start. And then we can talk about Georgia.
"All the players that I have got have played different systems if I wanted to change the way I play against Georgia, as to how we play against Gibraltar."
The manager, of course, is scheduled to only spend one campaign with Ireland in this his second tenure, and as a result, he believes his remit is to win matches and attempt to qualify Ireland for Euro 2020.
Subsequently, McCarthy would not be drawn into the importance of the performances throughout the eight-match campaign.
"I’ve never been sacked for winning games," said McCarthy.
"I reckon it’s my job to get results, however they might come. If we get enough good results and we have the Euro 2020 games here, that’s got to be my remit.
"I’m sure we played some scruffy, scrappy games when I was last here, but when we won games I never heard the fans complaining, they were too busy cheering."
The manager would be forgiven for not looking beyond the 2020 campaign in relation to player evolution or handing players competitive experience.
However, McCarthy has already shown that he is willing to give younger players a chance should their performances merit inclusion, as has been shown by the recent call-ups of Josh Cullen and Jack Byrne.
But McCarthy did appear to concede that his options would prove limited with few Under-21 players really in contention, while the new manager Stephen Kenny has had to drop down to the Under-17s and Under-19s to complete his current squad.
"I was listening to Stephen Kenny talking about the Under-21s, and there is hardly a glut of players that are pushing to get into the team.
"Two of the players I have picked [Byrne and Cullen], let's hope they can add something to the squad. I’m sure they can, they have certainly not looked out of place."
So on to Gibraltar on Saturday and while three points are the absolute least that Ireland can come home with, there will also be an expectation amongst Ireland fans that an impressive performance with no scares and plenty of goals is forthcoming.
Looking back to Martin O’Neill’s first competitive game, an away win in Georgia. The manager was not too impressed when asked to account for the poor performance, despite securing the three points.
And as unlikely as it may seem, if McCarthy’s finds himself in a similar situation come Saturday, expect the grumbling to become a lot more audible, from all quarters.
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