Caretaker manager Sean McCaffrey has warned his Republic of Ireland Under-21 side they will face a difficult European Championships qualifier in Montenegro tomorrow.

With defeats in each of their opening two Group Three fixtures against England and Portugal, the youngsters cannot afford to lose any more ground on their rivals. But they will come up against a Montenegro team carrying the hopes of the whole country.

Montenegro has yet to play a senior competitive international as the country did not get its independence from Serbia until last year when the Euro 2008 qualifiers had already commenced, so the under-21 team is of increased significance.

Teenage Red Star Belgrade striker Stefan Jovetic is their best-known player and he scored twice against the Irish for Serbia and Montenegro at under-17 level last year.

"They're an improving side. They only lost 1-0 to England last time and beat Bulgaria away 2-1. It's going to be a tough game," said McCaffrey.

Republic of Ireland youth team manager McCaffrey is taking charge of the under-21s tomorrow as official boss Don Givens is acting as caretaker of the senior side in Wales.

"From the England game there's five or six of our players missing, but having said that there's a lot of good players here. The quality is good," said McCaffrey. "It would be great to have Darren Randolph, Darren O'Dea, Anthony Stokes, Billy Clarke, Stephen O'Halloran — but I'm very impressed with the improvement a lot of them have made.

"It's a big game for them and a big crowd is expected. They'll get well supported but we just have to concentrate on a good performance. Don picked the squad. We have a good relationship. He basically told me to run the team, pick it and run it as I see it. That's what I'll do.

"There's a good attitude and desire to do well. We have to play with composure and confidence and try to get the three points."