On Soccer:The prospects of Steve Staunton's side actually qualifying for next European Championship may still look remarkably slim to most observers but after a couple of decent competitive wins, and a moderately successful two-match end-of-season engagement in the United States, the sense of crisis that had completely enveloped the Irish squad in the wake of last year's appalling defeat by Cyprus has largely been lifted ahead of tomorrow's friendly in Denmark.

That in itself represents a significant achievement for a manager whose name was rarely mentioned in national papers during the early part of this year without the word "beleaguered" lurking very close by in the story.

Notwithstanding the fact that both Wales and Slovakia looked weaker than might have been expected when they came to Dublin, the Republic of Ireland's first two games at Croke Park went as well as could have been expected.

Though the current qualifying group table might suggest otherwise, the six points obtained are really not enough to put Ireland back in serious contention for a top-two spot unless they are added to by a least four from next month's games in Bratislava and Prague. However, they restored some pride to the team and may end up making a vital difference when the seedings are worked out ahead of December's draw for the next World Cup preliminary competition.

Having used the trip to the New York and Boston at the start of the summer as a sort of summer camp for aspiring internationals, Staunton gets to use this week's game to see how well the graduates can do in a close-to-full-strength squad.

Two of the mini-tour's three best players will be heading for Aarhus this afternoon. Darren Potter and Daryl Murphy both shone in the States and each has made a solid start to the new English campaign. His record suggests that that is more than enough for Staunton to consider handing them the chance to take the next step in establishing themselves as part of his core group of players.

For Stephen O'Halloran, meanwhile, the priority remains a breakthrough at Aston Villa where the young left back is said to be highly regarded but his displays against Ecuador and Bolivia are unlikely to be quickly forgotten.

Among the others who potentially have a good deal to gain this week are Stephen Hunt, goalkeepers Colin Doyle and Wayne Henderson, and strikers Shane Long and Andy Keogh.

Hunt's age and experience puts him in a somewhat different category to the others but competition for places on the flanks is stiff and Staunton never quite sounds as though he is entirely convinced by the Reading midfielder's qualities.

Sunderland's Paul McShane is still very much at the stage where he will be disappointed this week to miss the chance of another senior cap but to judge by his first couple of Premier League games, his future at this level is pretty much assured. The young centre half looks both hungry and fearless in the Kevin Moran mode and while his club performances over the last couple of weeks have not been flawless they have been remarkable for a player who has travelled so far in such a short space of time.

To date, the decision to thrust McShane into the limelight late last year is probably Staunton's stand-out achievement although it would have looked an even better call had he made it in Nicosia where he opted to play a less than fully fit Andy O'Brien. His willingness to hand Stephen Ireland responsibility for co-ordinating the team's attacking movement on a couple of occasions has also been a good call.

Overall, the current manager has shown himself to be far more willing to take punts on young players in big games than his predecessor and while some have not paid off nearly so well as the ones mentioned here there is at least a sense the group is moving forward again with better long-term options being developed in a number of areas.

Along the way Staunton has given players like Clinton Morrison and Liam Miller some cause to feel aggrieved although neither could complain about Kevin Doyle and Ireland being ranked ahead of them in their respective positions.

Others, most notably Seán St Ledger and Caleb Folan, have been flattered with call-ups but there seems less likely to be as many surprises in the wake of America and the emergence of so many new faces.

Ultimately, Staunton still has quite some way to go before he can shake off the damage that was done by the Holland and Cyprus defeats as well as the narrow away victory over San Marino.

September's games offer a major opportunity to the Louthman, though. In the unlikely event the team takes four points or more then the manager's critics will have to swallow hard and give him some credit. Even one good result would add weight to the argument that things are moving in the right direction again while a couple of defeats would be likely to leave everyone deflated ahead of Germany's visit to Croke Park.

Qualification still requires something approaching a miracle but if real confidence can be generated both within and around this squad then Staunton's talk of a four-year plan would seem more realistic. .