Jim Crawford has revealed his one injury worry ahead of Tuesday night’s European Championships play-off second-leg against Israel.
And he has confirmed that the Israelis have drafted in reinforcements from their senior squad - in the wake of Ireland’s dominant display in Tallaght Stadium last Friday night.
Crawford told the media on Monday morning that he was keeping a close eye on goal hero Evan Ferguson.
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The Brighton hotshot picked up an ankle injury during a first-leg in which his header earned the Boys in Green a 1-1 draw.
“We just have Evan Ferguson who has a slight knock and that's about it. He didn't train yesterday with the group,” said Crawford.
“We're nursing him at the minute but he should be okay.
“He came off the other night because of the shift that he put in. He fatigued towards the end of the game, and I wasn’t aware of a knock on his ankle when we took him off.
“It's not serious and we will just monitor him today.”
A draw was the least Ireland deserved after last Friday’s display. They should be preparing for the return leg in Tel Aviv with a lead to defend.
However, Aaron Connolly hit the woodwork in the first-half and other chances were spurned during an impressive attacking performance.
It convinced Israel boss Guy Luzon to raid the senior squad for reinforcements.
Doron Leidner, who played at left-back in a 2-1 win over Albania on Saturday, comes into the reckoning, as does midfielder Eden Kartsev and striker Liel Abada.
“I think it's a complement to our performance on Friday that they needed the senior team players,” said Crawford.
“The players that they are bringing down have played in the campaign already so we are aware of them.
“We prepared in the build up to the window that these players were going to play. I mentioned them in certain interviews before.
“They’ve got the boy Doron Leidner who is a left back and Eden Kartsev, the midfielder. They have Liel Abada too.
“They have come down and strengthened their team for the game.
“But it doesn’t faze us. It is in the back of my mind that it is a compliment with their manager needing to dip into the senior team.
“But I think we can play a little better than we did on Friday evening, as good a performance as it was.
“I do think we have another couple of levels to go, and hopefully we can go there on Tuesday.”
Crawford says confidence is high in the Ireland camp ahead of the second leg - and that his side can perform better than last week.
“The belief is there and I think that's backed up by the performance on Friday,” he said.
“They have nothing to fear here as long as we can play to our potential.
“By the way, as much as I think we played well on Friday, I still think we can play better with this group.
“If we can do that on Tuesday, I can't see any reason why we can't get that positive result we need.
“The players have been great and we have a squad of 25 here and it is a challenge to A, pick a team, and B, you've got a name a bench.
“They're all here on merit because they are all talented players.
“A lot of those players can go for the next campaign so there's a broader view in all this when we're picking squads.
“It is a challenge picking a bench, because you've got to pick a bench that you think might have an impact or for possible scenarios that might come in the game on Tuesday.
“What I'm getting is that you’ve got a group of 25 to keep happy, but they are all happy and confident.
“They love being here and understand what it means to be here. That’s important.”
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