Devlin Keen For B Team To Impress

Devlin, one of Staunton's right-hand men at senior level, is at the helm for tonight's friendly with Scotland and Dalymount Park in Dublin as the 'B' internationals make a return to the fixture calendar.

Following a host of withdrawals through injury, Devlin only has 18 players at his disposal for the clash with Scots.

It is still a chance for those on hand to not only represent their country, but also strengthen their claim for a senior call-up.

'We will try to use everybody,' said Devlin.

'They are here to impress Steve, so we will give them as much time as we can, swap things around and then see how it goes from there.

'Obviously, they are all wanting to get into the first-team, so the most important thing from my point of view is that they go out there and make an impression.

'As this is hopefully the first of several games at this level over the next year or two, it is up to them to initially stay in the squad.

'For the likes of someone like (captain) Stephen McPhail, this is his chance to get back into the first-team squad.'

Given the ambition of the players, team unity may prove difficult to develop, particularly as Devlin only had one full day yesterday to prepare the squad.

However, he believes the players cannot only make their mark, but also beat the Scots into the bargain.

He said: 'The result is important but, in the context of what we are trying to achieve, the performance is too - individually at first and then collectively as a team.

'But if they play with the passion and desire we know they are capable of then I think we can get a good performance and result.'

For Devlin, with the game fairly low on the list of priorities as far as the players' club managers are concerned, he knows he faces a fine balancing act between satisfying their needs and those of Ireland.

'I've had a few calls from managers in England, so we will look at things and see what we can do,' asserted Devlin.

'It is crucial we don't make a hash of it and change things for the sake of change. We need to be quite professional about how we go about this, and we intend to be.'

Devlin has lost Sean St Ledger, Shane Supple, Billy Clark, Stephen Ward, Daryl Murphy and Kevin Deery to injury.

Exciting young striker Anthony Stokes is due to fly in this morning and play around 45 minutes, despite figuring for Falkirk in their clash with Hearts last night.