Stephen Kenny has vowed to take an ambitious approach as he attempts to guide the Republic of Ireland to the European Under-21 Championship finals for the first time.
Kenny will send a youthful team into Sunday's opening qualifier against Luxembourg at Tallaght Stadium under orders to take the game to their opponents.
But he has full confidence in a crop of players he said are bursting with pride and desperate to get going.
"There's a great sense of anticipation," he told RTÉ Sport's Adrian Eames.
"We only met as a group for the first time this week, a lot of the players don't know each other because they've come through the different age groups.
"But I'm delighted with the application of the players. Hopefully we can start well tomorrow. The players are very clear about what's expected. There's no grey areas. They want to go and express themselves, enjoy their football.
"We're anticipating a good performance from ourselves. We have trained brilliant; I'm really pleased with the players. They're really keen - I can't tell you how proud they are to represent their country."
Kenny's plans have been hit by injury with 17-year-old Tottenham attacker Troy Parrott, Southampton's Michael Obafemi and FC Dordrecht winger Simon Power among those who have been forced to withdraw from a squad which includes nine men playing their football in the SSE Airtricity League.
The manager insists that merely means others have the chance to take the jersey, and he's hoping Ireland fans can make their voices heard to help his charges get off to a wining start.
"We've decided to promote the bets young players from the Under-18 and Under-19 age groups. We felt they're the players with the highest potential and the quicker we get them into the Under-21 set-up the better.
"It puts them in the picture to be senior internationals, which is the objective.
"There's already close to 5,000 tickets sold I believe. We want people to come up and fill the place. We want players to feel like they're part of something special, something that gives them the platform to take the next step. That's what we want.
"It's special for everyone. It's a great privilege and I'm very proud. We're excited."
