Footballers, whether they're injured or suspended, tend not to make good spectators but Paul McShane, by his own admission, is worse than most.

After picking up his second yellow card of the campaign against the Czech Republic last month the Sunderland defender had to sit out Saturday's game against Germany and despite being cheered by his team-mates' performance found the experience to be a quite miserable one. "I think my family can say how disappointed I was because I fell out with every single one of them after the game," he said. "It was strange, it just feels as if you're not a part of it. The whole sitting in the stand and not being in the dressingroom, not getting that feeling before the game . . . I'm glad to be back, I'm just hoping to get in the team."

In his absence Joey O'Brien made much the same impression as McShane did when given his chance against the Czechs in Dublin a year ago, and, short of John O'Shea being played in the centre of the defence tonight, O'Brien and McShane could link up again, having been team-mates at Ireland under-18, 19 and 21 level.

"I've played with him all the way through, although I never played with him at centre half, but Joey can play anywhere, as you can see: right back, centre back and centre midfield. I think we could work well together.

"He did well, Joey, I was really pleased for him. He's a good player, you just see the way he's come back from his injury, he's been out for over a year and it's a very hard thing to do. But he's straight back in with Bolton and back in with Ireland. It was a tough ask for him, but he's strong-minded, he's a strong character."

Neither player bears any personal scars from that night in Nicosia, Richard Dunne, Andy O'Brien, O'Shea and Steve Finnan were the defenders on duty for the 5-2 defeat, but McShane, who replaced Dunne five days later against the Czechs, recalls the aftermath only too well. "It was a very low point, I remember the days following it, it was like someone had died," he said. "There was an awful feeling in the place, it was a crazy game, a bad performance by the team and Cyprus made us pay for it. We'll be out to put it right, do ourselves justice, it will be a different game this time around, I think."

If Robbie Keane has been busy for much of the week promising "revenge" on the Cypriots because "they were showboating a little bit when they knew the game was over", McShane seems less inclined to criticise tonight's visitors for being cheekily exuberant when they were 5-2 up against a team then ranked 60 places above them.

"It's not about revenge," he said. "That's been mentioned this week, but people aren't being nasty about it. It's just about putting it right. It's just about winning the next two games and giving ourselves a chance in the World Cup seedings. Maybe it's revenge for ourselves, but it's not about revenge against the Cypriots, they've done well in the campaign, they've been the surprise package of the group.

"It's over now, us qualifying for the Euros. There's a slight chance, but let's be realistic. It's very much about showing a lot of pride, putting in a really good performance. We can't look back now, we have to look forward and learn from the experience.

"There's no hiding from it, everyone is under pressure now," he said. "It's every day, you see the papers and everyone is getting hammered. People are disappointed with how the campaign has gone, but everyone has given their all. Results could have been better, but that's the way it's gone. Let's just keep moving on, keep going."