Sean McCaffrey insists his Republic of Ireland Under-21 side go into tomorrow's clash against England with no fear.

England are unbeaten in Group Three of European Championship qualifying but McCaffrey, filling in for Don Givens who is with the seniors, can take heart from their last meeting with Stuart Pearce's youngsters despite suffering a defeat.

The scoreline was 3-0 in Cork but even Pearce admitted that did not reflect the whole game.

"They have a lot of pace but there are areas where we can get at them," said McCaffrey ahead of the clash at St Mary's. "I don't see any need to fear them. Stuart Pearce has done a great job, he's got a great bunch of players but there are great young players in the Ireland team.

"We'll approach the game in a different way and we have a slightly stronger squad than last time. They have a lot of good players but if we keep hold of the ball we hope none of them will be posing a threat. I think we have a lot of quality in our side."

The last clash saw England go ahead through early goals and goalkeeper Joe Hart helped England hold onto their lead.

"I thought the lads played very well when they had the ball but collectively didn't defend well and that has to be addressed in the second match," McCaffrey added.

McCaffrey believes his side's chances will be increased if Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon feel they should be with Fabio Capello's senior squad.

"They are two super young players, they've gone to World Cups and gained that experience," he said. "Maybe Walcott and Lennon could see it as a step down."