The Republic of Ireland, who admittedly have nothing to lose at the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, had a rude awakening when they went down 4-1 in the opening Group C game against their Croats.

It was not a happy return to the competition which the Irish supporters had waited 24 years to feature in since their last outing at the Euros.

Manager Giovanni Trapattoni’s men were well below their dogged best and the ability to keep teams at bay, which had seen them go 14 games without defeat, simply was not there in their opener on Sunday.

LA Galaxy striker Robbie Keane (9/1 – First Goalscorer) has come in for plenty of criticism for his performance against Croatia, as so much responsibility rests on his shoulders and he failed to deliver last weekend.

However, the 31-year-old forward still has that ability to pop up with a big goal and the Spanish defence should not take the former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur striker lightly at the PGE Arena in Gdansk.

As for the defending world and European champions, they failed to get off to the perfect start in their encounter with Italy (11/1 – Euro 2012 Outright) but by no means was it a disaster for Vicente del Bosque and his men.

Spain were a goal behind against the Azzurri and showed good character to come back into the game thanks to a strike from Barcelona playmaker Cesc Fabregas (6/1 – First Goalscorer).

The title holders look like they are missing the goals of David Villa, who was ruled out of the tournament through injury, and someone will need to step forward and take on that responsibility to bag the goals throughout the competition if they are to be the first team to win three consecutive major tournaments.

Having got through that tricky clash with Italy, Spain (3/1 – Euro 2012 Outright) will now feel confident of getting a result against both the Irish and Croatia in their remaining Group C games.

Like most games the battle in Gdansk will be won and lost in midfield and the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and David Silva are set to overwhelm any Irish effort.

An early exit for the Republic certainly looks to be on the cards and with the quality and the relentless passing play the Spanish bring the table, Trapattoni and his men could well be on the wrong end of another heavy defeat on Thursday night.

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Republic of Ireland

Not since 2002 have the Irish graced the world stage in a major international tournament although they did go close to reaching the 2010 World Cup finals only to be denied by Thierry Henry’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ moment in Paris.

Trapattoni and his players bounced back in their qualification campaign for next summer’s European Championships in Poland and Ukraine but came up just short thanks to a 3-2 home defeat to eventual Group B winners Russia in October 2010.

The Irish were two points worse off in the final table which has forced them into the lottery of the play-offs although they have been handed favourable opponents in Estonia given the fact they were the lowest-ranked nation in the unseeded half of the draw.

Republic of Ireland’s luck appears to have run out to a certain extent as Trapattoni has a whole host of injury problems to deal with plus the suspension which rules Wolves striker Kevin Doyle out of the Tallinn trip.

Already ruled out alongside Doyle are Leon Best who is set to become a father, Liam Lawrence (ankle), John O’Shea (hamstring) Shane Long (knee) and David Forde (thigh) while there is also a long list of doubts.

Best is set rejoin the squad on Saturday along with O’Shea although the Newcastle striker is carrying toe and groin injuries so will have to be closely monitored by the Irish medical team.

Captain Robbie Keane (11/8 – Anytime Scorer) looks like he has shaken off a leg problem in time to win his 113th cap although fans will be concerned Trapattoni felt he needed Keith Andrews to sit out training on Tuesday as a precaution, while Richard Dunne and Keith Fahey were treated for minor knocks.

The Italian was also without veteran goalkeeper Shay Given because of a stiff neck but it is not expected to stop him from travelling to Eastern Europe.

Trapattoni told the FAI website: “In these two (play-off) games, we have a great opportunity, but we are also aware that we are facing a team that has very good organisation on the pitch and we should not under-estimate them.

“We will have to show our pride. I am proud of our team and it will be very important for us to show all the Irish people our quality, our mentality and our attitude.

“Only with this attitude, we can get over these 180 minutes and achieve qualification.”

Estonia have added midfielder Andrei Sidorenkov and forward Vladimir Voskoboinikov to their squad and boss Tarmo Ruutli says he is delighted with his options.

“All the players are well-known in our team,” said Rüütli.

“There’s no place for major changes or surprises in the squad before the final two matches of the campaign.”

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Lennon was installed as caretaker manager of the Bhoys until the end of the season when Tony Mowbray was sacked in March. And he is looking forward to being in charge of his first Old Firm encounter, having featured in over 30 as a player.

The Northern Irishman is aware that with Rangers already claiming the SPL title it means there is less at stake in the match, but he claims the pressure, build-up and hype surrounding the match is the same.

However, while Lennon claims he is treating the match the same as any other encounter, when asked if it would be extra special to win because they are facing Rangers, he said: “Probably.”

He added: “I want them to play well and give a good account of themselves. More than anything else, I want to win.”

Lennon played down talk that Rangers have a hold on Celtic at the moment as he feels there has not been much between the two sides so far this term (Celtic 5/2 To Win To Nil), while he pointed out that former Bhoys boss Martin O’Neill won seven Old Firm games on the bounce after losing his first four in charge at the club.

He added: “I think we are due a bit of luck. I don’t think Tony Mowbray had any luck at all throughout the course of the season.

“And we want the referee to call the right decisions, to make sure he gets them right.”

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