Fail to prepare, prepare to fail; a phrase once flung in the face of the Ireland management team, yet one that certainly could not be aimed at the current crop ahead of tonight's Euro 2024 qualifier in Athens.
Stephen Kenny’s side have arrived in the Greek capital, probably more prepared than any other Ireland international outfit ever for a one-off game.
The Ireland squad have been kept very busy since the end of the club season in England and they will take to the field at the OPAP Arena tonight off the back of something close to that of a pre-tournament schedule.
It all kicked off with a week-long training camp in Bristol for the Championship contingent, followed by another section adhering to personalised training plans, ahead of the nine-day, warm-weather acclimatisation in the Turkish resort of Antalya.
Granted, there are two qualifiers in this June international window, however, the second is a home game that should easily be negotiated against Gibraltar.
A "historic win" is what the Ireland manager is asking of his players, acknowledging the importance of picking up maximum points in these games, when you are competing with the Netherlands and France for the two automatic places at next year’s tournament.
Far from a foregone conclusion, however, as there really is not a whole lot between the teams on paper, nor the FIFA world rankings as Ireland’s 49th plays Greece’s 52nd.
A victory would at least send out a signal of intent for the remainder of Ireland’s qualification campaign and will certainly make the Dutch sit up and pay attention, if that had not already been noted following a fine performance against the French in the opener.
Ireland, as mentioned, have been building for this game over the past six weeks, yet in reality, this is what the Stephen Kenny Project has been leading to since taking the reins of the senior side three years ago.
Winning away games against similar-ranked sides, being able to maintain possession against ball-playing teams, most notably in sweltering conditions, and having the confidence to start on the front foot to maintain an attacking approach to such games.
This is what Kenny has attempted to do with the team since taking over, and while there have been more than a few bumps and bruises along the way, there is a sense of belief within the current squad, as well as the manager, that the team have reached their intended destination.
Kenny believes that the perception around the team has changed and he says they're now expected to play possession-based football, and feels that the new approach is embedded in his players’ DNA.
Tonight’s opposition are a formidable unit at home, as they showed in their recent Nations League campaign, winning all three on their own turf, and while their table-topping campaign was in the third tier of the European competition, it was not just promotion that was achieved but rather the winning habit and the momentum to take into the current tournament.
Greece also have the safety blanket of having already qualified for the Euro 2024 play-offs, which also allows them to have a real go in this group, and that will surely be very evident in the opening stages of this campaign.
Manager Gus Poyet admitted that the back door to the play-offs will allow his side to play with less pressure than Ireland in tonight's game, while adding that he felt that whoever loses tonight are realistically out of contention for automatic qualification.
The former Chelsea star added that he expected Ireland to arrive with an aggressive approach, looking to press high up the field, while he is also aware of the visitors' ability to attack set-pieces.
Poyet had the same problem as his international counterpart, keeping several players active following an early end to their club season, however, he embraced the chance to spend two weeks with his squad in the build up to tonight's game, where he felt that for once they were able to "train like a team".
Not a lot can be read into their 3-0 group opener against Gibraltar other than the fact that it keeps Poyet’s side brimming with confidence, and no doubt, the manager will have his side believing that they are more than capable of beating a team made up largely from England’s second tier.
"I hope so," was his reply, when asked could this current Greece team beat Ireland tonight.
Ireland will certainly look to set the tempo in tonight’s game, and while that involves holding onto the ball in the hot, humid conditions, it does not necessarily mean that it will be a gung-ho approach to grabbing that opening goal.
On the contrary, one of benefits of being comfortable on the ball is the fact that it allows the team to frustrate the opposition, and Kenny’s side certainly have shown that in recent games as they are happy to play sideways and backwards for sustained spells.
Conditions will dictate that to be the case tonight, however, that growing confidence in the side will then allow them, at times, to really burst into life and attack in numbers.
That confidence has taken a long time to build, but it certainly helps that there is now a familiar look to this Ireland side with a strong emphasis on continuity from game to game.
Seamus Coleman, Callum Robinson and Chiedozie Ogbene are all ruled out through injury, yet it would appear that the strength in depth is there to approach this game without too much concern for those who are not present.
Granted some have lacked gametime since the March fixtures, so the extended training camp will no doubt have targeted the likes of Matt Doherty and others to ensure that they are primed and ready to go this evening.
As for the team that will start tonight, the manager has the option to select his favourite goalkeeper of the trio of top class prospects, as all have been playing second fiddle at club level in recent months.
Caoimhin Kelleher enjoys a lot of support in the battle for the gloves, however, Gavin Bazunu has yet to put a foot wrong for Ireland, and while he has not been playing for Southampton, he performed well against France and could not be faulted for Benjamin Pavard’s wonderstrike, which proved decisive.
Josh Cullen, of course, put his hand up for that particular mistake in March, as he played an uncharacteristic misplaced pass, which led to the goal, however, the Burnley man is still likely to be the first name on the teamsheet as the manager looks for the winning formula tonight.
Elsewhere, there should be a very familiar look to the side with John Egan set to marshal the centre of defence alongside Nathan Collins with either Darragh Lenihan or Dara O'Shea making up that particular trio.
Doherty and Callum O’Dowda should fill in the right and left wing-back roles respectively.
Regarding formation, Kenny’s sides will always have more than one particular way of playing and while on paper it may look like a 3-5-2, it can easily morph into a 3-4-3, or vice versa.
Jayson Molumby and Jason Knight are the players in possession of the jersey ahead of tonight’s game, however, there is a growing sense that Will Smallbone is on the verge of breaking into the starting XI.
Evan Ferguson will, of course, be the main focus of the team’s attacking intent, and while the manager is unlikely to attempt to mimic his club side’s 4-2-4 formation, he is set to be partnered with either Michael Obafemi or Adam Idah in Chiedozie Ogbene's absence through injury.
Obafemi has previously worked well in a two alongside Troy Parrott, and can pull a rabbit out of a hat at any moment with his excellent long-range shooting, while Idah will also be pushing hard for a jersey, and his direct running could allow space for Ferguson to become the link-up man between midfield and attack.
Inevitably, tonight’s attacking personell will surely be influenced by who is most likely to complement Ferguson's attributes and the manager will have been influenced by what he has seen throughout the Turkey camp.
Meanwhile, Kenny could be tempted to have a look at Mikey Johnston playing off Ferguson, perhaps off the bench, which would offer a different attacking dimension.
However, every single player in the squad must believe that they have the manager’s trust and have seen throughout his tenure that he is not afraid to make big calls and make wholesale changes when the result is in question.
Ireland are now an established squad under Kenny, however, they are not quite there in terms of solving the equation in relation to winning games comfortably.
The intense preparation should level the playing field in relation to the summer conditions, aided also by the 9.30pm kick-off local time, which will set the dial down a good few degrees ahead of kick-off.
Both sides will come into the game full of confidence and look to dominate possession, which means that the likely outcome of this one is going to come down to composure and quality.
Ireland’s search for Robbie Keane’s eventual successor may be in the process of being filled, however, it is far too soon to be hoisting that responsibility on the shoulders of Ferguson.
Goals, in the meantime, will need to come as a collective, and while Ireland may start with a hint of conservatism, if the game is in the balance going into the final few stanzas, expect the flair players to be launched from the bench and fireworks might just follow.
Watch Greece v Republic of Ireland in the Euro 2024 qualifier on Friday night from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live radio commentary with Game On on 2fm
