Shelbourne manager Damien Duff is taking inspiration from former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr as he prepares his side to take on FC Zurich in the UEFA Conference League.
Duff's team are underdogs going into the first leg of the second qualifying round in Switzerland but the Shels boss believes his side can cause a major upset.
While Duff has played under some of the biggest managers in the game, it’s Kerr that he’s looking to emulate, drawing on the achievements of the Ireland underage teams of the late 90s.
Duff was an integral part of the 'Kerr’s Kids’ squads of that era and he’s hoping that Shels can cause the same level of upset that Ireland’s youth teams did under Kerr.
"It's a very difficult task, it's as hard a game as you can get, but it's a task that I'm relishing. I can't wait," Duff said.
"All we've done in the league for two and a half years, I think, has been upsetting people and upsetting the apple cart. Now it's time to take that to Europe and to the rest of the world.
"This game made me think of Brian Kerr all those years ago. Massive underdogs as underage teams for Ireland and he just took them on. If we can channel half of what Brian used to bring to underage Irish teams, we'll be doing alright.
"I'm a disciple of Brian, and a disciple of many of the managers I've had, so the guys will be ready to go, I hope, tactically. Then it's, I guess, about giving them belief. I hope we can do that, because belief is a massive thing.
"Then obviously it’s just motivating them emotionally. Brian was brilliant with all three of them, so like I said, coming away to Europe and being a massive underdog, all I've thought about really for the last couple of days is what Brian did with the Irish teams back today."
Zurich are regulars in the group stages of European competition and a big crowd is expected at the 31,000 capacity Letzigrund Stadium, but Duff is hoping to catch them cold.
The Swiss season has just restarted and while Duff warned about their quality up front, he believes that his side could be in a better place in terms of match fitness.
"The lads know what task is in front of them," he said. "There's a lot of top-quality players, they're a Swiss institution and they've won the league many, many times. They're a massive club. But it's not a time to be scared. It's a time to absolutely embrace the occasion, embrace the game.
"I hope I'm speaking on behalf of the players because if you tiptoe into action tomorrow night, you'll be in for a long night.
"They have an awful lot of attacking ability. We've watched all their recent games, they obviously started the season the other day, so you'd like to think maybe we're up and running an awful lot longer than them.
"They have an awful lot of attacking quality. If you're in any way disconnected as a team, or press individually and think you're alright, you actually won't be alright. It’s a brilliant test and I just can't absolutely wait for it."
Ireland international Armstrong Okoflex is one of the attacking threats that Duff mentioned, having joined Zurich from West Ham last August.
Duff is familiar with just what Okoflex offers, having worked with him during his time as a Celtic coach and he’s wary of the danger he can pose.
"I worked with Armstrong at Celtic, with the reserves and with the first team and he got 24/7 love, he got 24/7 coaching, and I did all those individual video clips with him all the time. I was always on his case, he was probably sick of me.
"I gave Armstrong a lot, and he gave Celtic a lot. Sometimes in life, you know, football clubs’ pathways are closed, and all credit to him, he went off and he's found his own way.
"He's making an impact over here in Switzerland in a foreign country, so I have a lot of respect for him."
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