A howling gale is blowing up from the south, whistling through the unsheltered grounds of the Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar.
Inside the stadium, the winds of change are getting aired as coach Julio Cesar Ribas speaks with confidence ahead of his side’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Ireland.
The home side, of course, lost both games to Ireland during the Euro 2016 qualifiers, 11-0 on aggregate, however, this is a new-look team with a no-nonsense manager at the helm.
And the home team are looking to cause another shock on the European stage as they welcome Mick McCarthy’s men to the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula.
Shockwaves have been emanating from this part of the world over the past couple of years as Gibraltar enjoyed a lot of success from their recent Nations League campaign.
Gibraltar secured their most high-profile victory so far of their fledgling existence as they beat Armenia away from home, while they also enjoyed a home win over Liechtenstein.
Mild tremors perhaps, but confidence building, and while any sort of result against Ireland would be the biggest achievement in their history, there is certainly a belief that they will be no pushover.
"The two games against Ireland are in the past and it is now time to write our own history and continue what was started in the Nations League," said Ribas, speaking through an interpreter at the pre-match press conference.
We have to keep growing as a team by always working hard and we have a great mixture of young players who are under 23 and quite a few old players who are, by want of a better word, historical legends of Gibraltar football.
"The passion and humility that the team showed in the Nations League will be brought into this campaign to make sure the team continues to grow over the long term and not just the short term."
Gibraltar have traditionally had to endure a 10-hour round trip to the Algarve to play their home matches but now the team have received UEFA backing to play their matches at their home stadium.
And Ribas believes that it will certainly stand to the team and will give them an extra edge playing in familiar surroundings and on a surface that they are comfortable on.
"The squad is doing well, and it is amazing to play at home in front of our home fans. It's very important for me as a coach to be able to manage the national team in Gibraltar - the fans are the 12th man."
Yet Ribas knows the extent of the task that is awaiting, as his side face "a team full of players who play in top leagues like the Premier League".
And the manager does not think that his side have any sort of advantage taking on Ireland in McCarthy’s first game in charge.
"Every game is difficult - Ireland have had a group of players who have played together for a long time. McCarthy is new but not new in that sense," said Ribas.
"There is never really a good time to play Ireland and we've both had same amount of time to prepare with the players.
"A difficult year for Ireland is in the past now, isn't an advantage or disadvantage for us.
"Ireland are one of the top 30 teams in the world - we were fortunate/unfortunate depending how you see it to draw a group as hard as we have."
Local prospect, Tjay De Barr, joined Ribas in the press conference, and the attacking midfielder, who is set to join Spanish side Real Oviedo in the summer, also believes that the side have improved considerably since the last time the teams met.
"Looking back now from the games against Ireland three or four years ago, I believe we have improved massively," said De Barr.
"We've got to play our game, and give it our all for the entire game. We have a good mixture of youth and experienced players.
"The Irish fans will make it a better game, make it more exciting and a harder game for us, but I'm happy they are here."
Follow Gibraltar v Republic of Ireland (kick-off 5pm) with our live blog on RTÉ Sport Online or the RTÉ News Now app, watch live on RTÉ2 or listen live on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport
