APPARENTLY NOT even Robinho features in the team Manchester City's new owner would actually like to see lining out for his new plaything, so it's not surprising Richard Dunne is struggling to come to terms with developments on the employer front.

The international side of his career, of course, is a good deal more straightforward at present for the 28-year-old. There may have been some setbacks along the way, but for the last couple of years the Dubliner has been the one constant in an ever-changing defence. Others come, go and switch position all around him but, when fit and available, Dunne's role in, and as, the heart of the defence is assured.

He was, of course, a regular as far back as 2000 and played a key part in getting Ireland to the World Cup finals in Japan and Korea, only to lose his place in the run-up to the finals. Six years on, he's anxious not to let another chance to play on the game's biggest stage slip though his fingers.

"I'd love to play in South Africa," he said after the Irish squad trained for the last time at SV Wehen's picturesque, mountain-top training ground 20km from Mainz. "It's probably my last chance to play in a World Cup. It's something I'm determined to do and it's games like Saturday that will get us there. Hopefully, we can take another step with a win on Wednesday (against Montenegro).

"It (the win over Georgia) was a great start. It was important to kill them off and get the qualifying campaign off to a good start. I mean, we should have been going to places like Cyprus and winning last time around but it didn't turn out that way. It just put everybody on a downer. Then we were playing catch-up and could never really recover from it."

Predictably, perhaps, Dunne expresses enthusiasm for the new manager's approach and feels Giovanni Trapattoni's tactics can help bring consistency to a side that has struggled to produce its best on a regular basis.

"The system," he says, "gives the defence a lot of cover, so when the two centre backs or full backs have the ball it's a simple pass for us really. We can just concentrate on the defending and it does benefit us, especially in tough away games.

"Also, it's difficult at international level because people tend to miss games throughout the group, but just now it's probably the most experienced back four we've had."

In fact, Dunne and rest of the back four on Saturday night had 232 senior caps between them.

In midfield, the performances of the only other man to play every minute of the every game for the new manager, Glenn Whelan, have particularly impressed him. The former City midfielder, who left the club to secure first-team football, has clearly benefited from the move.

"Glenn is gaining an awful lot of experience at the minute," he says. "He's a lovely passer of the ball and he keeps things simple. It was a brave move to leave the club, a lot of young players tend to sit tight and wait for their chance, but it's worked out well for him. In the last few games I've seen that he's added a lot of bite to his game. But he plays very sensibly, keeping the ball well and making it easy on himself."

Dunne's form at international level might yet serve him well at his club. He has consistently been a favourite of supporters, but now there is a new manager and, perhaps even more importantly, a new owner to impress.

"I think I've been doing well for my country over the last year or so," he says. "I missed a couple of games for City at the start of the season, but I'm just hoping to replicate my international form there."

Quite how things will pan out at Eastlands remains to be seen, but Dunne reckons a place for City at the game's top table is inevitable given the resources now set to become available.

"I just laughed, really (when he saw that Robinho had been signed) because they seemed to be bidding for everybody. I couldn't understand what was going on. But it's great that, rather than just allowing the big four to dominate all the time, now we can compete in the transfer market. The more successful we get, the bigger the players that will come. So yeah, I think it's inevitable that we'll be successful."

Of course, Sheikh bin Zayed's willingness to write fun-seized cheques may yet undermine Dunne's position and he admits good-naturedly to relief that centre halves weren't higher on the new owner's shopping list at the start of last week.

For Ireland, though, his future could hardly look more assured.