Heimir Hallgrimsson is expecting a tough, tactical battle with Bulgaria as the two sides go head-to-head in Plovdiv tomorrow night.
It's the first leg of this week’s UEFA Nations League play-off as Ireland look to maintain the status quo and remain in League B against the third-tier side who earned the play-off as a result of finishing second in their group.
Ireland’s secured third-place finish off the back of home and away wins over Finland without picking up any points from the four games with England and Greece.
It all means that both sides are looking to take the second-tier spot for the next edition of the competition, and the Ireland manager is keen to cement Ireland’s place among the higher ranked sides.
"Does it matter?" pondered Hallgrimsson, speaking at the pre-match press conference at the Hristo Botev Stadium, when asked whether relegation is a major issue ahead of a World Cup qualifying campaign to focus on.
"My thoughts are, we need to play good opponents day in and day out to develop as a team, that's why group B is important for us.
"There are differing views on it and I respect that, but I think it's really important to stay in group B and play higher-ranked opponents."
But the manager also admitted that on the basis of the squad that has been selected for the doubleheader there will naturally be an element of experimentation within the group.
"Experiment, yes, we have players who don't have caps and we'd like to see them in action," he added.
"We called in players we feel are ready to play, that's why we bring them in, it's also a time to give players a chance, it's not like we will lose anything or risk anything in this game, as a group we like to stay in group B and compete with better teams."
And Hallgrimsson sees the match as an opportunity for the new or fringe players to step into the gaps left through injuries or suspensions and put themselves in the picture for the upcoming campaign with just three more games to play after Thursday night’s fixture.
"This is now their chance to show themselves, to cement themselves in the team. There is a World Cup coming up, so games are getting fewer and fewer until we start this important campaign."
Looking ahead to the game, Hallgrimsson confirmed that the entire travelling squad are fit and available for selection, adding that the players are champing at the bit to be involved.
"Yes. All fit, all well, all want to play, of course," he said. "That's a problem for the coach.
"I said it before the camp when I was announcing the selection, we are in a good moment, all the players are playing day-in, day-out. There is a lot of match fitness in the team at this stage, better than in the past two or three camps. Looking forward to seeing what we can deliver tomorrow."
That air of confidence comes with a large helping of caution, of course, as Hallgrimsson really appears to rate the lower-ranked side, who he believes will be very difficult to break down, acknowledging that his players will need to maintain their structure and wait for opportunities to present themselves.
"It’s to build on what we have been working on, first of all," said the manager, when asked about what he wants his players to deliver in this away clash.
"Good structure, maybe patience is maybe not the correct word, but it is going to be a hard team to break down, that’s for sure. All our analysis point to the same thing.
"They always control the game, even without the ball, they are pretty good controlling the game, electric going forward, individual skills and counterattack so defence, as well, is really important tomorrow."
The last time that Ireland were in action, they were outclassed against England and shipped five second-half goals, which shattered a lot of the confidence that the new manager had been attempting to instil in the squad, which he felt lacked belief when he took over.
Nathan Collins is confident the Republic of Ireland can bounce back from their Wembley woe when they take on Bulgaria in the #NationsLeague on Thursday
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Nathan Collins joined the manager at the press conference and was one of only five players that are in the current squad that started the Wembley debacle, and the captain believes that tomorrow night’s game is a great chance to get over the disappointment of the defeat and start to rebuild ahead of a vital year.
"A hundred percent," he responded, when asked could the team restore confidence. "It's a good game for us, we are ready to go again, it hurt a lot and it wasn't a nice feeling.
"It was tough as we all had to leave after and we hadn't seen each other since, so it's a game we want to bounce back from, we want that confidence back."
Collins also offered an insight into the thinking behind the tactics for the first leg, which is to go out and win the game and not rely on the return game in Dublin to implement the advantage.
"We'd rather score and win," said Collins, when asked if Ireland would settle for a scoreless draw.
"A clean sheet would be nice, they have been good defensively, so we know how tough it's going to be to break them down in our own way and pose a big threat to score goals."
Watch Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary on an extended 2fm's Game On.
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