Mick McCarthy said he is not daunted by the prospect of visiting the Middle East to scout the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup play-off opponents.
McCarthy will fly to Tehran on Wednesday to watch the first leg of the Asian Zone World Cup qualifying playoff between Iran and the United Arab Emirates despite US-led airstrikes on Afghanistan.
Iran were expected to qualify automatically for the finals but were stunned 3-1 by Bahrain in yesterday's final match, allowing Saudi Arabia to top Group A and secure a place in next year's event.
McCarthy said: "I have no problem flying to the Middle East. It's an excellent opportunity to study our potential opponents both in Tehran on Thursday and then in Abu Dhabi six days later".
McCarthy said he had been given videos of both teams in action by former international Gerry Armstrong but felt that "there's nothing better than seeing your opponents live".
"Even though Iran borders Afghanistan, Tehran is hundreds of miles away from the conflict," FAI chief exectutive Brendan Menton said.