When he wanders into the press conferences these days, Steve Staunton talks a more considered game than most of those around him. Like helping to bring through the likes of his new central defensive partner, Richard Dunne, "it's all part of being a senior pro", but then Matt Holland talks about "even players of Stan's age" still being in a position to learn about the game the Aston Villa player suddenly doesn't look quite so happy with his status as one of the squad's elder statesmen.

When Staunton talks about Saturday's game, though, he speaks in greater certainties than those around him. While Holland chats amiably about how much he and his team mates would like to win this match, the 32-year-old is more interested in where it will be won and, perhaps, lost. And it's not idle boating when he talks about himself as being one of Saturday's key figures.

"Our defence is the key," he says without hesitation. "What Roy and myself and the rest of the four or six defensive players do will decide it. In that sort of situation there's pressure on us but there's pressure on them too, they have to win."

Staunton has seen a few players come and go over the course of his 90 international appearances but he can scarcely have played so crucial a role in such an important game with a less experienced partner beside him.

On paper, there is little enough reason to suspect that it won't go badly wrong for the pairing but then there was even less cause for optimism when the young Dubliner went up against Patrick Kluivert for the first time last year. And the late announcement that the current pairing would make their debut together against Portugal hardly had them dancing in the aisles at Lansdowne Road in June even if Staunton, like many others in the Irish camp, would prefer to believe that it is just the members of the media who were sceptical at the time.

Expecting them to cope with the Portuguese attack would have been a tall order for any brand new defensive partnership. But for one involving a left back who had, even over the course of a long career at a very high level, only limited experience of playing as a traditional centre half and a much younger centre half who at club level had to reluctantly settle for playing at right back, it looked at first glance like a sure fire recipe for disaster.

The first 45 minutes of that game did little to suggest otherwise but since then Staunton and Dunne have gradually come to know their way around each other and a couple of weeks ago against Croatia's rather highly rated attack both played well as they comfortably came out on top during the only half of the game that counted for anything.

"The longer you play together, the better it develops," said Staunton yesterday, as he contemplated making his fourth appearance alongside the young Manchester City player.

"It would have been nice to have had the chance to play half a dozen or so games together before a match as big as this but I think that so far, we've coped well enough."

Dunne, he reckons, has done admirably since being thrown in at the deep end in Amsterdam.

"You're never experienced until you've played the games, it's as simple as that. But he came into a massive game 12 months ago and managed very well against one of the best strikers in the world.

" He's a strong boy who doesn't let much get past him and I think he's done everything that's been asked of him so far."

Anything other than defeat in Saturday's game would, of course, maintain the side's chances of making it to next summer's finals and while Staunton is certain that he is the target for everyone in the side he reckons that the different players have different reasons for being desperate to make it through.

"I think for the older lads, they see it as a lovely way to go out where as for the younger players it would provide a fantastic launching pad for the next stages in their careers."

When one of the visiting journalists pointed out that many of the Dutch players are in the "lovely way to go out" camp, Staunton was quick to point out that the Dutch, should they get there, would then be under pressure to win the tournament.

"For us just qualifying would be seen as an achievement but that doesn't mean we'll want it any less when we go out there on Saturday afternoon."