Noel King is confident the Republic of Ireland will end their World Cup qualifying campaign with victory over Kazakhstan if they produce the same level of performance they did in Germany.
The Republic will finish in a disappointing fourth place in Group C, barring a cricket-score victory over the Kazakhs and an unlikely defeat for Austria in the Faroe Islands on Tuesday night, when second behind winners Germany was always their target.
However, the performance the interim manager got from his players in their 3-0 defeat by the Germans in Cologne on Friday night provided him with encouragement and he senses there is more to come.
Asked how important it was to end with a win, King said: "It would be lovely. But these players are up, they know they have acquitted themselves well against the top, they know that and they just have to repeat that.
"They are up for it. I know by their eyes, I know by their antics, I know by the way they are going around the place - they want to win the game.
"If you start a game in that mode, well that's all you can do and then you have to wait and see how that unfolds."
Victory would represent a personal achievement too for the Republic Under-21s manager, who was drafted into the hot-seat in the wake of Giovanni Trapattoni's departure last month.
King has been told he will not be considered for the job on a permanent basis, so Tuesday's game could be his final opportunity to lead his country to a win.
He said: "It would be lovely, wouldn't it? It would be lovely.
"I am happy to go to Germany - I thought that was a great football experience. The Cologne Stadium is marvellous, the players we played against are marvellous.
Source: PA
