Richard Dunne on the right, Shay Given partnering Damien Duff in the middle, with Kevin Kilbane in his more customary position on the left. A revolutionary formation, certainly for an eve-of-match press conference, one that usually only features the manager and captain in the holding roles in the middle.

Steve Staunton had arrived first in the Croke Park press room, and sat alone for a few moments exchanging glances and grins, for considerably longer than 32 seconds, with his friends in the media. Even his FAI employers had been unaware of his strategy for this particular match, having provided just the two chairs. A whisper from Staunton and off they went to collect three more.

The door opened and in filed Dunne, Duff and Kilbane, to be followed soon by a bemused Given, his surprise at seeing his team-mates in the room drawing roars of laughter from them and the manager.

If any one had planned on asking Staunton if he thought he had the full confidence of his more senior players, this show of unity was, presumably, designed to deflect the query. And none of the trio looked like fellas who'd been dragged there screaming. If anything there was a cheery defiance about them. "We're doing it for the gaffer," that type of thing.

Is there any significance in so many senior players being at the top table with you today? Staunton shrugged, like he didn't understand quite what the questioner could have meant.

"The boys are coming out. We're here for questions. That's it."

Time, then, for the questions. Staunton was asked about the reception members of his squad received when they were introduced to the crowd at The Point on Sunday before Bernard Dunne's fight. While the Irish rugby internationals present received a reception bordering on the rapturous, a section of the crowd greeted Robbie Keane and his colleagues with boos.

"Boxing's a totally different game," said Staunton. "That's it. People have their opinions. Different crowd. They had a few jars in them, nothing we can do about that. It'll make our lads more determined and closer together, so they're doing a good job that way."

Given, too, stood his ground when asked for a reaction to Roy Keane's charge that the goalkeeper's hunger for caps was depriving his understudies of the experience they would require when called upon in his absence.

"I haven't actually seen the comments, to be honest, but I sort of got wind of them," he said. "You don't want to comment on every single person who makes a negative remark, or a positive one.

"A few years back you got a bit of stick if you didn't want to play for your country in friendlies, and now you're getting stick if you do play, so I think it's a no-win situation, to be honest. But, personally, I'll be as proud tomorrow when I get my 80th cap as I was when I got my first against Russia in 1996. It's just personal pride, I want to make as many caps as I can, for myself. If that's wrong, so be it."

Given, of course, will captain his country in the absence of the suspended Robbie Keane, his 80th cap drawing him level with Packie Bonner's record for an Irish goalkeeper. "If it's only for one time in my whole life, to lead my country, I'll be extremely proud and very honoured to do so. And it's not every day you lead your country out in to Croke Park in front of 75,000 people, so it's a very, very special moment in my career."

Duff, meanwhile, was insistent that the "mood in the camp" was upbeat.

"It's very positive, we're all buzzing for tomorrow, I think it's everyone outside it who's being negative, but that doesn't worry us, we can't wait to get kicked off tomorrow night, we hope to get three points," he said.

Has the negativity effected you? "Not really, it's been around for a while, so it's water off a duck's back now. I don't think it (Saturday's performance) was bad overall, but we sat back off them in the second half, we were very sloppy. But that's nothing to do with Stan, it's the players out on the pitch. If we can't pass the ball 10 yards at times, it's nothing to do with the manager, it's just us being sloppy. So, yeah, we'll have to put in a better performance tomorrow."

A revolutionary formation, then. If they show the same spirit and invention in Croke Park tonight Slovakia should return home with divil a point in their luggage.

Back to the gaffer. Somewhat ruefully he compares the media scrutiny he's experiencing with that of one of his own international managers. "When Jack Charlton first took over I think there were four or five journalists. Maybe one TV crew. And now look at this today," he says, looking around the packed room.

"We'll be selling tickets next month," he grins, "and I hope they're not face value."