A sense of occasion? There were about thirty-five thousand people with microphones shoehorned into the small windowless annex room where the post-match press conferences were held. Mick McCarthy came in and stole the last of the oxygen.

"It was a nothing game really," he said, downbeat but happy. If the press conference had been a match people would have begin streaming out the exits at that point. Sudden realisation that this was to be Going Trough the Motions, Act Two.

"This match counts but in the whole picture as I see it, it doesn't. They were happy to play the game and get home. It was a fair result but the circumstances were difficult. Romania had already qualified and we had second place barring a major accident. It was hard for both teams to be motivated."

That was that really. Saturday's game and press conference took place in the strange netherworld between the group phase and the draw for the play-offs. The future rests on the outcome of a raffle in Zurich.

We have seen the Irish team and manager emerge a few times from the Lansdowne dungeons and put the sort of spin on a game which would bring a blush to a PR man's cheeks. On Saturday, they just played it for what it was. McCarthy picked out the positives but don't hold them up to the light and ask us to marvel at them.

Apart from Mark Kennedy that is.

"It annoys me sometimes. Hagi has got man of the match for a few little flicks, I could watch him all day when he is firing, but we have a kid who can do these things, he does the flicks and he lets the ball run past him and he has the touches and people just say `aw no'. It's wrong. He missed a few shots but he should be allowed, not to indulge himself, but to be the player he can be and do the things which nobody else can do."

We nodded dutifully. If only a Premiership manager with a chequebook felt the same way about Mark Kennedy we would all be a lot happier. As for Lee Carsley fresh in to the midfield hole just vacated by Mr Keane?

"I confused him a little with the holding role but as the game went on he got more comfortable. He did a good job, I was comfortable with him."

There are a few inquiries to be made about the nature of the goal conceded and the almost total absence of decent crosses from Irish players. One suspects that the answers to those questions will ultimately be Shay Given, Gary Kelly and Steve Staunton but for now only words.

"Alan Kelly has come off the pitch and has said he is sorry, He's upset and he's held his hand up. I've told him there is nothing to apologise for. He needs first-team football. If you're not playing first team football it shows. Jason Mac and Mark Kennedy and a couple of others are the same.

"I'll not use any word in particular about the crosses because I don't want to read "McCarthy slams...". We weren't good with the final delivery today. I was disappointed in that."

He avoids talking about who he would like to be drawn against for the play-offs. We know from experience that we could draw a tapeworm out of his gut sooner than we could draw a controversial quote about team or squad selections for the play-offs. The press conference peters out naturally.

He gets up and heads for the fresh air and drizzle. Nothing game. Nothing press conference. Just a short and peaceful interlude between the wars.