"Two wins," is Gavin Bazunu's blunt answer when he's asked what would make a good international break for the Republic of Ireland.
Two friendlies over a four-day period for the Boys in Green, with Norway in Dublin on Thursday, before a trip to play Malta on Sunday.
The latter game of the two will take place after the opening fixture of the 2022 World Cup, and it's a stark reminder of where Ireland are, and where they need to be.
And the draw for the next European Championships last month threw up France and The Netherlands, as close to the toughest draw they could have been handed. The top two teams in the group will qualify automatically for Germany.
After an average campaign in the Nations League, which saw the team manage just two wins from their six games, a play-off place is harder to reach with Ireland depending on other teams ranked ahead of them qualifying automatically so that one of the four designated play-off places for League B countries might become available.
Undoubtedly 2023 could be the year which defines Stephen Kenny's time in charge of the national team as the patience from supporters is tested with Euros qualifitcation on the line.
That's not what's on Bazunu's mind when speaking to the press today, and he says he's looking forward to taking on two of the giants of the European game.
"Excitement," was his initial reaction to the draw, he says.
"I want to play against the best in the world, and challenge myself against the best. So to see the top quality nations that came out in the draw is exciting for me.
"If it had have been an easier draw, sometimes that can add more pressure. To be up against the best is where we all want to be.
"Now that we know that we've been drawn in the same group as them, it'll be important to have a look at them [at the World Cup] and see how they play - really analyse their players.
"In those games [against Portugal and Serbia] we performed really well and we showed how good we can be as a team. I think it's time that we string more performances like that together.
"They were disappointing," he says of the games against Scotland and Armenia - a defeat in Glagow, and a get out of jail victory in Dublin.
"I know the levels we can play at from the Serbia and Portugal games that we played. In parts of the game against Scotland we showed that. It just wasn't a rounded performance. Similarly in the Armenia game there was a 10 or 15 minute spell where we let ourselves down.
"Going into these next two games if we can have a more rounded performance, and stay a bit more consistent, we should come out with two good results."
Whatever about Ireland's consistency, or lack thereof, Bazunu has made the number one jersey at Southampton his own.
He's played all their games in the Premier League this season, only making way for number two Alex McCarthy in the Carabao Cup clashes with Cambridge United and Sheffield Wednesday.
The Saints' form has not been impressive, with them currently in the relegation zone, and it resulted in a change of manager at St Mary's. Nathan Jones took charge of his first match at the weekend after replacing Ralph Hasenhuttl, although there was no immediate bounce as they lost 3-1 to Liverpool at Anfield.
Bazunu's position though is one of the few where Ireland are truly strong, with regular Premier League appearances for fellow squad member Mark Travers.
Added to that Caoimhín Kelleher, who took over between the sticks in the summer when Bazunu was injured in June, and recently saw game time in the Carabao Cup for Liverpool.
"We've got a really good, and strong, goalkeeping group. We've been working together for a number of years now," Bazunu acknowledges.
"Anyone who watches the sessions will see that whoever is playing, the other two will support. We all have each other's backs, and we really enjoy training together.
"We've got myself, and then two really strong goalkeepers who are really talented. All I can focus on is my own performances. All I can do is go out there and perform as well I can every week, and show the manager what I can do.
"I can imagine he's going to have a headache because we've got really good goalkeepers."
Pushed on whether he considers himself the Ireland number one now, he adds: "I've done all the work I can do up to now and it's the manager's choice, whatever he decides to do. If I'm going to be playing I'm going to go out there and perform like I normally do.
"I don't try to think too much about the politics or what the manager is thinking."
Back to the games this week, with the highly unusual November start to the World Cup, and Bazunu is already looking to that next Euros qualifying campaign, which will start with Les Bleus coming to Dublin at the end of March.
"This is a very important window for us to build momentum heading into March," he says.
"So I don't see why we can't go out here and get two wins."
Follow the Republic of Ireland v Norway on Thursday via our liveblog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, or watch live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
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