Colin O'Brien is cautious when it comes to setting out ambitions for the Republic of Ireland's maiden Under-17 World Cup campaign in Qatar next month.
Firstly, the head coach wants everyone to acknowledge that "This is historic" - the first time the age group has qualified for the World Cup.
"I think we've already climbed a big mountain, by securing qualification," he said.
"Some of the big nations haven't qualified. Spain, the Netherlands. It just tells you how hard it is to qualify.
"I think it's a real shot in the arm for football people in the country that develop and work with players at all different ages and all different abilities.
"The majority of the squad have come through our system here, played grassroots, gone to League of Ireland clubs. So that's massive."
Of course, the competition expanding to 48 teams has helped but Ireland still had to fight their way through a dual-purpose qualifying campaign where they were only pipped for a place in the eight-team Euros by eventual semi-finalists Belgium (their 1-0 win coming from a penalty).
Given that, and the fact that they were the highest-ranked second-place European, finishers he must surely be optimistic of getting out of a group containing Panama, Paraguay and Uzbekistan?
"It's a group that I think all four countries could see themselves progressing out of," O'Brien tells RTÉ Sport. "And you're into knockout football then.
"I've been fortunate enough to be involved with four European Championships and I know how relentless tournaments are.
"I know the intensity that happens once everything starts and they can be very unpredictable.
"So we'll just be ready for Panama (on 5 November) and then go from there. And if we can progress, then we see where we can land."
You may recall the 2022 men's World Cup won by Argentina was held in December, to allow Qatar to host.
The absolute monarchy occupies a peninsula on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and has a desert climate. O'Brien's boys can expect to play in temperatures around 30 degrees.
Under FIFA rules, teams can't arrive in Qatar until four days before their first game, so Ireland will have two days together on 29 October before departing for the Middle East on Halloween night. But the manager insisted they have been preparing for the conditions for months.
"The heat and humidity obviously will be a factor," said O'Brien. "We've planned for that. We've added performance support staff to the backroom team.
"We've utilised the international windows. We qualified at the end of March and brought the players away to Croatia to really hot temperatures in June.
"Then we went to the Czech Republic in September, again, warm conditions. We were recently away in Pinar, in Spain for our final double-header.
"So they've been exposed to how to prepare to play in the heat.
"The supports are there for them within the squad and they've also been given plenty of educational tools to look at when they're with their club as well, so that they'll be prepared for it.
"We'll arrive in on the Saturday and do a preparation session. And then gradually increase the intensity on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
"The players in the League of Ireland, they're coming off the back of their season. So there's been no huge gap with not training or no matches, and the players out of the country are in season. So no excuses there."
The impact of post-Brexit changes preventing Irish-resident players from signing for UK clubs until the age of 18 can be seen in the make-up of the squad.
Twelve of the 21 are playing in the League of Ireland, five in the Premier Division and seven in the First.
Shamrock Rovers (four), Finn Harps (three) and Dundalk (two) all have multiple representatives, including the Hoops' Michael Noonan, now Ireland's youngest ever Under-21 goalscorer, and Victor Ozhianvuna, who will join Arsenal in January 2027.
Six are based in continental Europe and just three in England.
"It has been interesting to observe," said O'Brien of the shift away from the traditional development destination across the Irish Sea.
"There are challenges, for sure, in terms of the player adapting to a new language or culture. What I have seen is a rapid maturity among the young men who have gone abroad. They’ve had to become more independent.
"Even the way they communicate to you, it is noticeable how grown up they are. Then there is the football aspect. I’ve seen tactical and technical improvements.
"Really interesting developments, tweaks in their game. They’re coming on.
"But the system here is producing seriously good players. You’re seeing guys getting their chance at 16 years of age in first teams in the League of Ireland.
"That’s only going to continue and increase in terms of numbers.
"Clubs are not afraid to give young players a chance. The First Division, especially, is really showcasing a lot of good, young talent. It's a real education for them in that division.
"I'm excited by what’s coming through.
"Good to see managers have given them an opportunity, which every young player probably is yearning for, and a lot of them have grabbed it.
"You can see that they've picked up good habits with their first-team environments. That will hopefully add to the international set-up."
Almost all of the matches will take place on the various Aspire Academy pitches in Al Rayyan.
But the two teams that get to the final will face off in the 45,000-capacity Khalifa International Stadium (above), which hosted eight games at the 2022 World Cup.
But before Ireland can start dreaming of emulating Brian Kerr's Under-20s, who were bronze medallists in 1997, there's a nerve-wracking few days ahead for O'Brien.
"We're really happy with the squad, but we still have a week before we meet up," he warned.
"And there's still a full fixture list to happen this weekend with players as well."
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