Giovanni Trapattoni suggested on Sunday that the lack of Irish players playing at top end Premier League clubs means those that start tonight's game against England will want to show they can compete with opponents drawn from Manchester and London's leading sides.

Kevin Sheedy believes the particular derby aspect of these games will help the Irish as they seek to punch above their weight. But the man who scored for Ireland against the English at the 1990 World Cup in Italy accepts that things have changed a little since the two nations met as equals more than 20 years ago.

“It’ll be a difficult game for Ireland now,” says the former Everton star who now coaches at the club’s academy, “but in those games there were always close affairs.

“I always remember the atmosphere that night (1991 in Wembley). It was a full house and there was fantastic Irish support. It’s a really good memory although wherever we played we always had good backing. Still, it’s a slightly different atmosphere when you’re playing in one of the major stadiums in the world.

“Our games were always special – like a local derby because obviously all the players knew each other. We played against them every week, we knew each other inside out and they were always close affairs.

"In '88 we beat them 1-0 in Germany, there was the 1-1 in Italy, so they always seemed to be close encounters but I do think that that was partly down to the fact that they felt more like derby games than internationals.

'No fear'
"The other things was that we certainly believed that we were a match for them. The clubs we were playing at were at the top end of the table, playing for the championship and it (the Ireland team) was a difficult team to get in, a difficult team to stay in because there were quality players who all played for the best team in the league here.

“To go there with no fear, to know that we were capable of winning, that was important and I hope the lads now can go into this game with the same attitude.”

Added incentive for Jack
Trapattoni himself is, at least, free from the particular pressure that comes with picking a team to play his own country. For then manager Jack Charlton, acknowledges Sheedy, the games were especially important.

“Yeah,” he says, “I think there was always an added incentive for Jack. He was very conscious of the game against them at that World Cup

“When we went to Malta to prepare that time I think it was always on his mind. But then the media were asking questions all the time, of course, so it was a bit extra special for him really.

He adds that the memory of the occasion is also high up there for him.

“I had some great memories with Everton – winning the league, winning the Cup Winners Cup but from a personal point of view, after growing up and watching the world cups, watching Brazil and the likes of that, getting to a word cup is something you actually strive. for. So to actually play in one, play in all the games and to score against England was a fantastic memory for me.”

The occasion may not be quite so grand but the stage is still set for one of the current generation to write themselves into the history books.