Thursday 9 October 2014 20:24, UK
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has revealed he has received help from Group D rivals Poland as he prepares his side to face Gibraltar in their European Qualifier on Saturday.
The Irish face Gibraltar, who were beaten 7-0 by the Poles in their Group D opener last month, in Dublin and O'Neill is keen to keep his feet firmly on the ground ahead of a game which he insists is more difficult in reality than it looks on paper.
O'Neill said: "I was speaking to the Polish representatives, who were right beside us, and they were saying how difficult the game against Gibraltar was, breaking them down, scoring the goal in the first half - they were obviously relieved about that.
"I watched the game and I see the problems that they had, particularly in the first half. I think Gibraltar probably conceded about four goals in the last 10 or 12, 14 minutes of the game.
"The game will be difficult enough for us, and that's the time that we want to be preparing properly for."
The Ireland boss wants to get the Gibraltar game out of the way before he turns his attention to the daunting task of travelling to face world champions Germany next Tuesday.
O'Neill added: "The German game, obviously, causes its own concerns - that comes afterwards. It's a tough game for us, obviously, and one that I really cannot really concern myself about until we have played Gibraltar."
Republic midfielder James McClean is also refusing to treat Gibraltar lightly.
He said: "Obviously, Gibraltar are new to world football and then there's the Poland result in the last game.
"But for us, we have got to treat it like the Germany game. I know that's the old cliche, but there have been a lot of upsets in football over the years and we have got to make sure we are not one come Saturday.
"If we can get an early goal, great, it takes the pressure off. But if it takes until the 80th minute, we have just got to make sure we get three points. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar live on Sky Sports 3 at 5pm on Saturday.
