In the middle of a crowd of journalists, his head slightly bowed, his eyes almost peaking over a cluster of microphones, Roy Keane delivers his verdict. This, he didn't need to say, had not been one of the more memorable nights for the Irish, but after Saturday's draw at Lansdowne Road it had been very much what was required.

The three points required to go top of the group had been taken and in a few months nothing much else will be remembered about Ireland's trip to the Faroe Islands.

A few feet away, the home side's players mingled with friends and family after another night on which they had battled hard against the odds but only to be beaten. As they filed out of the Torsvollur stadium and headed for home, Keane barely allowed himself a smile.

There remain some serious obstacles to be overcome if Ireland are to make it to the World Cup finals. When a journalist made the mistake of asking whether qualification was now a hope or an expectation, however, there was only going to be one answer from the Corkman.

"The performance could have been better but a win is a win as they say," he said as players and officials mingled around him, united in a mixture of pleasure and relief that a difficult night was out of the way without any significant hitches. "It was an ugly win but I'm happy.

"Ideally, you want to play well in all of your games, but when you consider the conditions and the fact it has been a long, hard season for the players then maybe it is understandable.

"After the disappointment of the draw against Israel, the players bounced back well.

"We knew it was going to be hard. We persevered to get the three points and we got the luck with the penalty which has deserted us on so many occasions recently."

The win sends Ireland to the top of Group Four and maintains a pattern in this qualification race of the big teams beating the smaller ones and drawing the meetings between each other.

"You are going to have your ups and down in a qualification group, but I always felt that it would come down to what we did at home to France and Switzerland and I think that will be the case," said Keane barely audibly above the chatter in the lobby under the stand.

"We hoped to be in a better position than we are in now, but the other teams would probably say the same thing. You have to earn the right to qualify for big tournaments, it's the same for everyone.

"But it was a nice way to bounce back after the weekend. I am not going to over-analyse the game now, but I think all the players deserve a lot of credit because it was been a long, hard season, 10 or 11 months, but it is over now.

"The players, Brian and the staff," he continued, "were all disappointed after Saturday, but maybe expectations are higher now. I felt the criticism was a bit harsh.

"When you are playing the likes of the Faroe Islands, though, you should expect to beat them with the players they have, and that's no disrespect to them."

As for the French, who are next up for the Republic in September, the expectations might be slightly different, but Keane baulked at the suggestion that the home team might be considered outsiders against any team in Dublin.

"Underdogs? In Lansdowne Road? Nah, I don't think so."

Win that game, he knows, and Ireland will be back on track for their fourth World Cup finals in five attempts. "Is it a hope or an expectation?" asked one reporter.

"Do you expect us to qualify?" he replied.

"Yes," came the slightly startled reply.

"Then that's one thing we agree on," he said, and with that he was gone.