There is little Giovanni Trapattoni has not seen before during his 50-year career in football. The 70-year-old Italian has tasted triumph and heartache, enjoyed strokes of good fortune and suffered the misery of ill luck more often than he cares to remember.

It is the combination of those experiences which have made him both the man and the manager he is today.

Tomorrow night, the Republic of Ireland boss will send out his troops for their final World Cup Group Eight qualifying clash with Montenegro at Croke Park with part one of his mission completed.

Ireland were seeded third in the race to get out of the group behind current holders Italy and Bulgaria, and from the off, there was little argument that they, the Bulgarians, tomorrow night’s opponents, Cyprus and Georgia were fighting for runners-up spot and a ticket for the play-off lottery.

For three fleeting minutes on Saturday evening, the Irish very nearly had bigger fish to fry.

When Seán St Ledger’s 87th-minute header flew past Italy keeper GianluigiBuffon, the race for automatic qualification was back on - that was until substitute Alberto Gilardino sent Trapattoni cursing down the tunnel with a last-minute equaliser.

But three days on, the Republic manager has swallowed his disappointment and is already preparing for what lies ahead.

As animated as ever at his pre-match press conference in Malahide today, he was taking the positives from a near miss and lauding the players who have got him the results.

“There are players, good players, beautiful players, but they are not winning players. There’s a big difference,” Trapattoni said.

“Many Irish people have offered their congratulations on the game and also in Italy, many, many, many people — not just friends — have congratulated us for how we played the game against Italy.

“We have convinced them that we are a team that gets results.

“We have shown against Italy, and also against Italy in Bari, we can play against any opponent.

“In football, there are players who are aesthetically pleasing, and there are winning players.

“Some players may be beautiful to watch, but it is not enough. You need to win.

“There is poetry and there are novels. Novels are different to poetry.”

It is a familiar theme in the philosophy of a manager who knows many of the players currently at his disposal may not have the technical ability of some of their opponents, but he is confident they have the mentality and the passion and the belief in their ability to overcome that.

However, that is not enough for the Italian’s critics, the most vociferous of whom, former international Eamon Dunphy, described Saturday night’s performance as “shameful”.

But while some players rose to the bait, Trapattoni was philosophical.

“It’s his opinion. Many other reporters from other countries say Ireland played well.

“I respect their opinion, but there are other opinions.”