It's all about focus for Ireland when it comes to this evening’s World Cup qualifier against Armenia, according to manager Heimir Hallgrimsson.
The manager has called on the players to be fully switched on from the start of the game, and when it comes to the bigger picture of how the group will play out, Hallgrimsson said that the key is to "focus on us".
Dropping points at home is already pointing to permutations of what is required from the remaining five games, and it all starts with a must-win fixture in Yerevan against the group’s lowest seed.
Armenia were hammered in their opening game, however, Hallgrimsson expects the hosts to have a right go at his side, especially in the early stages, where they have shown vulnerability in recent games, most notably conceding after two minutes in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Hungary
But the manager would not be drawn into certain scenarios about his side being able to capitalise of the opponents’ slow start and enjoy a goal-fest to boost confidence.
In fact, he urged a certain amount of caution against a team that he believes are dangerous in transition and have strong counter-attacking characteristics.
"We try to focus on us, that's the main thing," said Hallgrimsson. "How Armenia will recover from losing their first game with a new coach? I think it's probably expected (losing), playing against Portugal, everybody thinks they're runaway favourites in this group, but let's see.
"If we are clever we just focus on us, and not thinking about what they will do or how they feel, we need to be ready and we know that."
"Coming from a small nation, we can say Ireland is not the biggest nation, so a lot of wins for my nation, your nation, has come against teams ranked above us, that probably at some point underestimated us, so it would be kind of silly to underestimate anyone when we are playing, and I think we know from experience that we shouldn't do that," added Hallgrimsson, when asked about pressure playing against lower-ranked sides.
"So don't expect anything to change in our preparation. We at least don't change anything in our preparation, and I know the players won't either."
Ireland have had little time to prepare for this fixture considering how much preparing for the Hungary opener would have taken, and they also lost a day travelling on Sunday, which again limited the work Hallgrimsson could do with his players.
However, he does not appear overly concerned about such a situation, nor the warmth, with temperatures around 30C in the afternoon, and actually feels that the warm weather helps with recovery from a tough game and long flight.
"Well, we could try, at least," said the manager, when asked whether the team could play with the same intensity in the heat.
"Let's see how the weather will treat us, but we're not afraid of the heat, they are playing in the same heat, maybe a little more used to it.
"But I think it's even good after a game, to play in heat after a tough game, it helps the recovery, it loosens up the body, so I think it's good that we go out and do some exercises now in close to 30 degrees, whatever it is now," he added, speaking ahead of the team’s pre-match training session on Monday.
Coming back from a two-goal deficit also aids recovery according to the manager and he has his two strikers, Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah, to thank for dragging Ireland back from the brink to secure a vital point on Saturday.
Ferguson was on hand to hit the target just after the break and Idah was sprung off the bench, perhaps a bit too late, admitted the manager, however, both players can expect to feature at some point against Armenia.
"We'll see if he (Evan) starts this game, or if he comes in, or if he plays 90 minutes," said Hallgrimsson. "He looks really fit in training, his numbers are good, and again, a little different from when I came, he didn't play many 90-minute matches.
"He probably played the most when he came to us, so we always knew his quality and what he could give us. Even though he wasn't playing much for the team, he always got minutes with the national team, and hopefully we will be rewarded for that.
"Because of the amount of crosses we got throughout the game, it was tactically good to have two strikers in front of the keeper, especially as physical and good in the air as they are.
"Should have probably done that change a little bit earlier, but then again he (Idah) rewarded us with scoring. From his favourite plays, which is in front of the goal.
"All the credit to him, he's been sharp in training, and I know it's a new chapter for him, so maybe he'll just start the same with us, and long may he continue scoring goals for us."
Watch The Republic of Ireland play Armenia in World Cup qualifying from 4:30pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra from 4:55pm.
