Six weeks ago, he's only heard the stories, but after experiencing at first hand the euphoria sparked by Ireland's win over the Dutch at the start of last month, Steve Finnan is beginning to come to grips with what Irish World Cup fever might mean for him.

The build-up to the game was noticeably different, he says. And the atmosphere on the day was something he'll not forget.

But the celebrations after what was a truly remarkable victory provided the 25-year-old full back's first real taste of what the coming eight months might be like if Mick McCarthy's players can capitalise on all that has been achieved so far to qualify for next summer's finals in Japan and Korea.

Having already played in all five divisions of the English professional game and started to establish himself with the Republic, a visit to a major championship finals would represent another remarkable achievement for the defender who has been described by his former manager, Kevin Keegan, as one of the brightest stars on the English club scene.

At club level, he appears to have coped with the step up in standard to premiership football rather effortlessly and this Saturday he will get the chance to make a first competitive start for his country.

Both opportunities might have seemed almost unthinkable even a couple of years ago and even he still seems a little surprised by the speed of it all. "Not every player gets the chance to play first-team football with a club like Liverpool from the age of 18 or so the way Michael Owen did and I think for me going off and playing in the lower divisions worked well.

"The Conference is a tough league and you learn fast and, since then, I've just been trying to take something new from each of the managers that I've had the chance to play under."

From Welling United, the Irishman moved to Birmingham and there was a spell at Notts County before he arrived at Craven Cottage. These days, he has more than a couple of hundred league games under his belt, but, with his club having just been promoted, there is the lingering impression he's only just arrived.

On the international front, that's more or less the case. To date, he has started just three games and, though he scored against Finland last autumn, his performance against the Dutch when he came on for Robbie Keane after Gary Kelly had been sent off, was his finest moment in a green shirt.

"It was certainly a surprise to come on in those circumstances but it was still a great experience," he says. "The most important thing was not to concede a goal, but as part of that we were trying to create a threat at the other end.

"Nobody really said anything to me, but it's a natural part of my game really, getting forward, and playing a part in the goal was certainly a big highlight for me." In fact, aside from regular spells in midfield, he even put in a stint as a striker for Fulham when they were short of bodies in that department. "Yeah, I got a couple of goals," he beams when asked how it went.

It is at right back, though, that he feels most comfortable these days and it is there that he is hoping to show Mick McCarthy the full extent of his abilities this weekend.