Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane keen on returning to club

“He’s not taking too numerous accolades, but he’s been fantastic for us, for myself, the backroom staff and the players”.

No extended provisional squads need apply. They are not great coaching numbers when you are on the pitch. “But I would like to say the referee did not do his job properly in this game”. “They will just feel so much better with themselves”. Walters, increasingly central to O’Neill’s set up, was nerveless as he calmly found the bottom left of the goal, giving his former Stoke City team mate Begovic no chance. These boys we still haven’t seen enough of. “When things got tough I’m sure everyone involved has been through it before and we stuck together”. I’ve stepped up to the plate. He’s a great example to the other players.

O’Shea was suspended for the first game but has not played since suffering a hamstring injury in Sunderland’s derby win over Newcastle United in the Premier League last month.

Keane also discussed possible player options for the tournament and hoped Ireland would be able to spring a few surprises in France.

In fact, their first real opening of the match came after 54 minutes following good work down the right wing by the lively Edin Visca, only for Senad Lulica to completely miss his kick a few six yards out.

“In the changing room, when the manager spoke to us, it was an unbelievable feeling”. Obviously I want to stay on for the Euros and we will play it by ear. It meant we had to go and win the two games in quick succession, Gibraltar and Georgia, and probably win one of the last two games. “And that has to improve”. Trapattoni used 25 players over the course of that 2012 campaign, with a further nine players on the bench for one game or more. Bosnia manager Mehmed Bazdarevic will be bitterly disappointed with his side’s poor showing, but for Ireland it was the most complete performance of a roller coaster campaign, on the most crucial night.

“It felt like a scrape to us on the sideline”, he declared.

“It wasn’t comfortable to us – it might have been if Shane (Long) had bloody scored!” We could have enjoyed five minutes of football.

“So to finish it off playing and then qualifying for France is like a dream come true”.

He said: “These boys have all contributed and they have played in a lot of the bigger games earlier in the group, and they won’t be giving up their places easily, let me tell you”. “It will be a better tournament with the Irish fans there, there’s no getting away from that – I think everyone will agree”.