On Soccer: Having spent the past couple of weeks weighing up the strength of his own squad of players for the autumn's World Cup qualifiers Brian Kerr will now take the opportunity to cast his eye over a couple of Ireland's rivals as they compete at the European Championship, writes Emmet Malone.
Kerr didn't make public his plans for the few days he has on his hands before leaving for Lisbon and the game between England and France next weekend but he is unlikely to be taking it easy. There are, after all, always games to be watched, as his assistant Noel O'Reilly reminded us after he arrived home from Holland and nipped across the road from the airport to the AUL to watch an under-16 cup final.
The Irish management team's dedication to unearthing the stars of tomorrow is well documented, of course, but Kerr's desire to shape a brighter future for the senior international side may not be fully realised until he is working with a panel of players he has nurtured through the formative stages of their careers. That is something that appears to have moved a small but significant step closer over the past couple of weeks as players who first caught the eye in his youth teams took the opportunity to stake claims to a future in the senior international set-up.
Changes to the overall look of the Irish team that takes on Cyprus at the start of September are unlikely to be all that dramatic. The midfield, though, is now likely to have a considerably different complexion, if not at the very start of the campaign then within a few games as, aside from Roy Keane's return, Andy Reid and Liam Miller compete strongly for starting places.
Reid still has only seven senior caps, Miller four but both have looked capable of adapting to this level. Their inexperience may yet hinder them when it comes time for Kerr to select his starting line-ups for the early away games in Basel and Paris but both look set to establish themselves over the course of the campaign.
Despite always looking as if he could be fitter, the versatility, know-how and work-rate of the Nottingham Forest winger currently leaves Reid slightly ahead of the Corkman when it comes to the pecking order.
That would quickly change, though, if Miller establishes himself in the first team at Manchester United while Reid, with his move to Spurs now looking to be off in the wake of the club's change of management, continues his development in the much less challenging surroundings of the first division.
Both have shown they have the potential to fill Kerr's problem area on the right side of midfield, a position Steven Reid promised to make his own before suffering a succession of injuries in the wake of his move to Blackburn Rovers and where Jason McAteer said himself he was no longer playing effectively. At the time the soon-to-be 33-year-old was making a pitch for the central midfield vacancy which no longer exists.
The pair could yet both be accommodated, however, for, having largely shone so far in his preferred position on the left, Reid could still benefit from a decision to drop Clinton Morrison and instead play Damien Duff in a more central role behind Robbie Keane during the early qualifiers. Solid performances from Alan Lee in London tournament have done little to suggest the switch is not the manager's only real option when to comes to changing things up front.
Aside from Lee, David Connolly has never quite made the required step up when given the opportunity and his absence from the squad for the Jamaica and Holland games deprived him of the chance to restate his claim.
Like Reid and Miller, Alan Quinn and Graham Barrett did much to advance their causes over the past week but neither is likely to feature more than peripherally in Ireland's attempt to reach Germany for the 2006 finals. After watching the pair in Amsterdam where, despite the game's status, it was abundantly clear the Dutch wanted to beat their visitors, it is a greater mystery than ever as to how they have not established themselves as rising stars of England's lower divisions.
Barrett may have stayed at Arsenal too long but has been at Coventry long enough to prove his worth. On his day he possesses the capacity to mix it at a high level, something he may finally be allowed to prove at Highfield Road this season.
Quinn's career, meanwhile, has actually gone backwards over the past couple of years, with the Dubliner being released a few weeks ago by Sheffield Wednesday, a club where he was once the first team's hottest property.
A loan spell at Sunderland didn't earn him a move and while Ian Evans was in the Arena on Saturday night, apparently to have another look at him, a switch to Sheffield United looks likely to be confirmed this week. The new start will hopefully show others just why it is that Kerr has consistently singled him out as being special.
In defence things will be much as they were at the end of last year although Andy O'Brien looks finally to have established himself at the head of the queue to partner Kenny Cunningham in the centre of Ireland's defence. John O'Shea remains the first choice at left back where Clive Clarke hinted at his long-term potential and Steve Finnan has revived his challenge to Steve Carr on the other side of the quartet after an indifferent first season at Anfield.
After that there is only the goalkeeper's jersey to worry about but it is something that has once again become a considerable concern. Nicky Colgan and Paddy Kenny have not let anyone down when called upon but, with Dean Kiely out, Kerr is likely to return from seeing Portugal more keenly aware than ever of Shay Given's importance during the next couple of years.
