SOCCER: Mary Hannigan asks Bobby Robson if he's enjoying his new role - and what it is exactly

There's a mini crisis for much of the assembled media at the team hotel, they're talking to Bobby Robson and the tapes in their recorders are only 90 minutes long. When Robson starts talking football there's really no stopping him, but, mercifully, there are few ailments as infectious as his enthusiasm.

At first, the sight is slightly surreal, Robson pottering about the team hotel in his FAI kit. But such is this man's fervour for his latest posting that, after a while, you'd struggle to picture him in any other colours.

Sky Sports ask him if he intends learning the words to the Irish national anthem. "I might try," he says, but however successful that endeavour proves Robson gives the impression that he's a soldier whose footballing life is now pledged to Ireland.

"We haven't qualified for . . . I said we! There you are, you see? We," he says.

Are you getting used to saying we?

"Well, I have to," he says. "They'll be saying he's not part of us, he's saying 'you'. We're in it together, aren't we? We have to be. Jackie (Charlton) was, wasn't he? Jackie wouldn't say 'you lot', he would say 'us lot', wouldn't he? I've got to get used to that, I work for the FAI, nobody else."

And then he's feverishly analysing Colchester's performance against Chelsea in the FA Cup, talking about Ronaldinho, discussing the modern game, tactics, systems, Thierry Henry, how today's players are technically superior to those in "my day", offside, Lionel Messi, closing down space, Diego Maradona, all the time punching the palm of his hand to stress the point he's making.

And this 73-year-old is nursing damaged ribs after a fall while skiing in Austria. Was this Robson in subdued form? Having that Irish crest on your chest, how does it feel?

"Well, it's a strange feeling," he says. "I never thought it would happen to me, but it has, and it feels good. I'm just delighted to be back in the game really, at the highest level possible.

"It's wonderful. I was looking for the right job when I lost my job at Newcastle, turned down several because they were not really for me, but this suits me to be honest, so I'm thrilled about it. Can't wait."

So, is it the result, the performance, or the introduction of some new faces that will be most important factor in the Sweden game?

"Well, the whole kaboosh, isn't it," he says. "We'd like the lot. Stan's got to decide in his own head what he wants. Will he pick some youngsters? If yes, how many? And that's a trick in itself, because if you put too many in you might get the wrong result.

"We have quality we know about, we don't have to worry about Damien Duff or Shay (Given) or John O'Shea - and there are others - we know about them. So, we do have some very good players, like Duff, he's a wonderful technician, I've liked him for a long time."

Plans for how he and Steve Staunton will liaise during games have yet to be finalised, "we'll work on that", but for now the FAI will have to find someone with a very good engine.

"We talked about radio contact, but no, I might have a runner - I hope he can run - but we'll look at that, if I think we'll need a contact we'll do it. But he'll want me in at half-time, because I'm sure I might see things that I might need to point out to him."

He won't, then, be in the dug-out? "No, no, I won't," he says. "I'll sit upstairs, that will suit me - but if he wants me behind the goal I'll go behind the goal. But no, I quite like it up there, over my life I've spent a lot of my time up there, you get a bird's eye view, you can see the whole picture."

The practicalities, then, will be sorted out, he says, but from day one there are no doubts about what he expects of the players.

"It's about them wanting to come and be part of it," he says, with the stress on 'wanting'. When I was seven years of age I didn't think about playing for any club, I just wanted to play for England. There are millions of kids like that.

"So don't forget that, don't forget how you felt when you were seven years of age. You're now 23, or whatever, but feel the same. You've got to play for your country.

"That's what we need to get from the players, the feeling that they really, really want to play for their country."