Giovanni Trapattoni

The Irish found themselves 3-0 behind after just 50 minutes but threatened to take a point with a second-half comeback.

Goals from Robbie Keane and Shane Long reduced the deficit and put the visitors on the back front in the close stages at the Aviva Stadium.

But Dick Advocaat’s men held on for the points and the result now leaves Republic third in Group B (Ireland 10/3 Group Winner), with six points from three games.

Despite slipping behind Russia and Slovakia (18/5 to win Group B) in the standings, Trapattoni remains upbeat about his side?s chances of making to Poland and Ukraine.

The Italian stated: “At the moment we have three teams the same and we start again the qualification. It is important now we think about our quality and our possibilities.

“Russia lost against Slovakia, now Slovakia have lost against Armenia. The qualification is not easy and there’s a long way to go. I’m sure we have the same chance.”

Ireland now face what looks like an important trip to Slovakia on Tuesday, where a positive result would leave them in a strong position in the group.

Trapattoni added: “Slovakia are a good team with good players. But we can win on Tuesday. We just need to understand immediately what happened (against Russia) and why one or two situations occurred.”

Meanwhile, the coach has indicated that he will stick with the Kevin Doyle/Robbie Keane striker pairing, despite withdrawing Wolves’ striker in the second half.

Trapattoni says he had Tuesday’s match in the back of his mind when making the change and feels Doyle and Keane “complement each other” and claims Republic “cannot do without one of them”.

Russia (20/1 Outright Winners) face a trip Macedonia on Tuesday and Advocaat believes his side need another three points to keep them in the hunt for top spot in Group B.

The former Rangers boss said: “We’re back in the group but we still have to do well on Tuesday because if we don’t do that it’s still not good.”

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The Irish can count themselves as very unfortunate not to be joining Tuesday’s South American opponents in the World Cup finals this summer, following Thierry Henry’s handball during their play-off game with France (16/1 to win the World Cup).

Ireland were on course for their first visit to a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup until Henry’s handball set up William Gallas to send the 1998 world champions to South Africa instead.

They should be preparing for the finals but Ireland will now provide the opposition for two sides who will be heading to Africa, as they face Paraguay on Tuesday followed by Algeria later on in the week.

Trapattoni has said that he hopes his players will be able to put the hurt of the play-offs behind them as they build for the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

The 71-year-old Italian was full of praise for his current crop of players ahead of this week’s friendly matches and the start of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, which begins in September.

“We could see immediately we are not on holiday. They came here not on holiday,” said Trapattoni.

“I have said for the last two years, when you wear this shirt, there is no such thing as a friendly game because it’s our pride and the mentality of our country that is important. We have to build our mentality. I am not arrogant, but we are sure we have a strong team.

“Today I spoke with Marco [Tardelli, assistant manager] and we were saying this group [of players] is a great group – they showed us that against Brazil, against Italy and against France. They played better than or at the same level as those teams.”

Ireland (6/4 to qualify for Euro 2012) will fancy their chances of securing a top-two finish in their Euro 2012 group, having been drawn with Russia, Slovakia, Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra.

Despite avoiding many of the big nations in the draw, Trapattoni believes qualification will be a big ask and has said his players need to carry some momentum into their qualifiers.

“I know the group will be difficult and we will been all our players to be fit, but I have seen many games and I think we can qualify because this group is strong,” he added.

Despite the likes of Shay Given, Richard Dunne, Aiden McGeady and Kevin Kilbane being unavailable for the visit of Paraguay, Trapattoni is set to start the game with an experienced eleven.

Skipper Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, John O’Shea, Kevin Doyle, Glen Whelan and Sean St Ledger will all start while Coventry keeper Kieran Westwood will win his fourth cap as he comes in for the injured Given.

Ireland’s preparations for the game have been overshadowed by the injury Everton youngster Shane Duffy suffered during a practice game, the 18-year-old needing life saving surgery after a horrible collision.

While Duffy remains in an intensive care unit in a Dublin hospital he has been told he will play football again, despite losing two-thirds of his blood in the accident.

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