A few days after Clinton Morrison told the British media that he'd like nothing more than for Roy Keane to return to the international fold, a broken down bus on the way to training may well have left most of the Irish squad feeling quietly relieved that the Manchester United midfielder was safely back in England.
Exiled from their usual north Dublin base because the place was already booked out, and hit seriously by withdrawals for the first time since Brian Kerr succeeded Mick McCarthy just over a year ago, Ireland's preparations for this evening's encounter with a strong Czech side had not gone quite as smoothly as hoped even before yesterday's mishap held up training for well over an hour.
After an easy defeat of Canada and a highly creditable draw with world champions Brazil, however, there is a sense that the Republic's on-field operation is running more smoothly again.
The extent to which the Irish have recovered their swagger in the wake of being brushed aside in Basle should be well tested, however, by a face-to-face meeting with a side described recently by French coach Jacques Santini as Europe's best at present.
With the visitors looking to extend their unbeaten run to 21 games, a win for the Irish would represent a significant achievement, one that would help to further banish the memories of those deeply disappointing outings against Russia and Switzerland in the autumn.
However, higher on the priority list than victory, said Kerr yesterday, is a strong performance by a side that will include significant changes from the side that held the world's leading side in mid-February. Topping even that, said the manager, is the hope that the game will provide him with a better idea of how to progress with the development of his squad.
In defence Gary Doherty will finally get the chance to show what he can do at international level in his preferred position while Ian Harte will presumably be handed an opportunity to restate his case after losing out during the last year to John O'Shea.
Kerr said yesterday that Clinton Morrison will again partner Robbie Keane in attack and in the circumstances the Birmingham City striker's inclusion was probably one of the manager's less difficult selection decisions. Having looked out of sorts and short of confidence at different times during his time at St Andrews, Morrison is currently enjoying his best spell since arriving at the club from Crystal Palace even if he continues to find goals surprisingly difficult to come by.
For Ireland he has always been a lively contributor but despite managing five goals in 16 appearances he has yet to convince that he can find the net at this level on a regular basis. A strong showing this evening would strengthen his grip on a starting place when the qualifiers come around in the autumn but a goal or two against a side of this calibre would be perhaps the strongest evidence yet that he entitled to be viewed as Keane's long term partner.
Midfield is the one area where Kerr really isn't short at all of options but Damien Duff's return will still provide a welcome injection of sparkle. The manager juggled his line-up quite a bit in training at Bray yesterday but the Chelsea winger's inclusion seems assured, perhaps even in the position in which he has shone most brightly since moving to London last summer.
Kerr said yesterday that he would like to accommodate all of his three left-sided players, Duff, Kevin Kilbane and Andy Reid, if the opportunity arose at some stage as their current form at club level entitles them to favourable consideration. For the one phase of yesterday's session in which he fielded a side that included the defence and attack he is expected to start with he also did just that, playing Duff on the left, Reid on the right and Kilbane in the central position he occupied at the outset of the Brazil game.
The slightly more surprising member of the quartet was Mark Kinsella but then the 31-year-old has recovered his fitness and recaptured his form since moving to West Brom a couple of months ago, a fact readily acknowledged by Kerr when he named his squad just over a week ago.
Matt Holland is an obvious alternative and played alongside Kilbane for a spell yesterday. Lee Carsley was also given a run on the right while Rory Delap seems overdue a run-out, but Kerr has repeatedly made it clear that he intends to strike a balance between continuity and experimentation and all may be disappointed on this occasion.
Having used only one substitute last month, Kerr admits that he will almost certainly switch things around a little more this time but having confirmed that he intends to give Paddy Kenny an international debut at some stage and hopes, fitness permitting, to do the same for Liam Miller, there will be some disappointed figures on the bench come the final whistle.
For the Czechs, meanwhile, the game represents another stepping stone on the path to Portugal and their coach Karel Bruckner, who brings a strong squad with him to Dublin, will use the game to weigh up his own options.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); Carr (Tottenham), Doherty (Tottenham), Cunningham (Birmingham City), Harte (Leeds Utd); Reid (Nottingham Forest), Kinsella (West Brom), Kilbane (Everton), Duff (Chelsea); Morrison (Birmingham City), Keane (Tottenham).
CZECH REPUBLIC: Cech (Rennes); Grygera (Ajax), Bolf (Banik Ostrava), Ujfalusi (Hamburger SV), Jankulovski (Udinese Calcio); Sionko (Graz AK), Galasek (Ajax), Nedved (Juventus), Stajner (Sparta Prague); Baros (Liverpool), Koller (Borussia Dortmund).
