The calm before the storm; Ireland are about to ease out of their season, while beyond, a major battle is brewing on the not-too-distant horizon.
No nine-day intensive warm-weather Turkey training camp, but rather a relatively relaxed runaround ahead of the visit of Senegal to Dublin tonight followed by a short hop to Luxembourg for another friendly to close the curtain on the 2024-25 season.
A qualifying year, but Ireland have successfully manoeuvred matters to ensure that the vital World Cup campaign does not involve any early summer, end-of-season fixtures, with the campaign not beginning until September.
Ireland may have become a bit of a soft touch in recent campaigns, but the real vulnerability has presented itself at this time of year, with disappointing defeats to Greece, Ukraine and Armenia still relatively fresh in the memory.
Even last summer's closer in Portugal, albeit a friendly, showcased the shambles that can present itself when players are sitting idle for weeks without routine and then expected to perform.
And yet there are still two games to fulfil.
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s first attempt to traverse this tricky terrain; he appears to be quietly content with the way things have been going in Dublin this week.
A juggling act for the management team to prepare a competitive unit to take the field, considering many have been out of action since the start of May.
Getting the balance right has been the motto for the Senegal fixture with one, or perhaps both eyes, firmly fixed on the autumn outings.
Momentum has been building following back-to-back Bulgaria wins in March, and Hallgrimsson’s side have actually won four of their last six matches, with that fiasco at Wembley looking less relevant to the overall objective.
Hallgrimsson has been happy with the camp, how the players are responding, and believes that the team’s identity is becoming more and more apparent.
And while the manager might talk about tonight’s result as being inconsequential, there is no doubt that he will demand a performance from his team.
In fact, Hallgrimsson is expecting players to put their hand up for the World Cup qualifiers, and has challenged the fringe and new players to "rock the boat" and put pressure on those in possession of the jersey.
Finn Azaz and Josh Cullen are two players who have been handed a pass for these end-of-season games, with both very much embedded in the expected starting XI come September.
Competition for places is now a reality and a sign of how far Hallgrimsson has taken the team in a short space of time, as there is no chance for established defenders or forwards to have an off day with real quality waiting for the opportunity to pounce.
The manager has said that he is happy with the fact that the qualifying campaign does not start until September, however, you get the impression that Hallgrimsson is primed and ready to go in his quest to take the team to the World Cup for the first time since 2002.
And for that reason, he is expecting a tough competitive game tonight against a team that is unbeaten in their last 20 games and are currently ranked 19th in the world, a whopping 41 places higher than Ireland.
Hallgrimsson appears ready to embrace a fixture against a strong, fast, physical side, who will look to penetrate Ireland at every opportunity and sees it as the ideal fixture for what awaits in the autumn.
"If you look at how they play, [they have] massive physicality," said Hallgrimsson. "I'd say not only speed but running power, they come at you again and again, and they look for the space behind you.
"They are specialists in finding pockets to play in, to run into, a third man running in, so we will be tested defensively, massively.
"And individual qualities, similar to Portugal, all players can hurt you so one-v-ones will be massively important. Everything happens a little bit quicker, when we need to defend and that's a good step, if we are ready for that, it's a good preparation for Hungary and Portugal."
And for all those reasons, Hallgrimsson will surely select a strong side to start, leaving any plans for experimentation until the latter stages of the game, or perhaps even wait until Luxembourg.
Caoimhín Kelleher will start in goal with Nathan Collins, Dara O’Shea, and Jake O’Brien battling for the two central spots, leaving Robbie Brady on the left and Matt Doherty on the right.
Jason Knight looks set to take on the holding role in midfield following an excellent campaign captaining Bristol City to the Championship play-offs. But it remains to be seen how Hallgrimsson fills in the blanks around him, with Jack Taylor and Will Smallbone both likely candidates to start.
Ryan Manning linked up well with Brady in Bulgaria on the left flank, while Festy Ebosele is back in the squad having missed out in March through injury, and could be asked to play wide on the right, where he impressed in the Nations League.
The management seem to have high hopes that Kasey McAteer will show he is of international quality and following a good end to the season, he might get more than a cameo role tonight.
Troy Parrott will be eager to follow up on his Bulgaria performances, however, he was ill on Wednesday and there is no need to risk the striker unless he looked back to his best in Thursday’s final training session.
It could even help take the decision out of the manager’s hands, allowing him to play Evan Ferguson or Adam Idah in attack to see if the former can find form or the latter maintain his following a 20-goal season at Celtic.
Whatever the selection, Hallgrimsson will want to see his theories and training routines transfer onto the pitch, while expecting confidence levels to grow and players taking the initiative to continue this evolution of the team’s identity.
"We would not change our principles of how we play, how we defend, how we attack, the principles are the same," said Hallgrimsson, when asked how players would step into the role of Cullen or Azaz.
"There is a different type of individual, this player can give us more in that area, there's always a balance in how you set up players, but the principles are the same and we'd like to introduce the principles to as many players as possible, we never know what's going to happen in September/October/November."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Senegal from 7pm Friday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
