Time to sort out the men from the boys!

COMETH the eleventh hour, cometh the eleven men.

With tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Switzerland a win or bust affair, it’s time for the Republic of Ireland players to stand up and be counted.

Whoever they may be. Between injuries and the fall-out from Nicosia, there is more uncertainty about the Irish line-up for this game than there has been for many years. With no Damien Duff or Roy Keane, and with question marks over a number of established players after the dismal display in Cyprus Brian Kerr has had to make some big decisions about what eleven to start with.

As ever, he was keeping his cards close to his chest yesterday but, in a much more upbeat press conference than we have seen for a couple of weeks, Kerr promised that there would be “freshness” in the side which will be fighting for Ireland’s World Cup life.

For Kerr, one of the big challenges is to get the balance right between recent form and big match experience.

“You have to take all the different elements into account. You think about form, what players have done in previous matches, experience and freshness. There’s no one factor that over-rides everything.

“It’s a matter of all the angles on it, the knowledge I have about the players and the opposition as well. It’s not going to be anything very drastic.

“We’re not going to make an awful lot of changes from where we have been over the last few matches.”

The good news, after Monday’s injury scare, is that Shay Given will start. The hero of Nicosia came through a full training session at Lansdowne yesterday, which was more than can be said for Richard Dunne, who limped off after coming off worst from a tackle on Kevin Doyle.

Dunne was one of those who had a forgettable night in Cyprus, but Kerr said he would retain his place unless yesterday’s knock proves more problematic than first thought, in which case it would mean a return to central defence for Andy O’Brien.

Further along the backline, there appears to be a real possibility of change, with Ian Harte a serious contender for a starting place at left-back instead of John O’Shea, another alarming under-performer in Cyprus. Kerr admitted that he was “considering” starting the Levante full back.

“He is one of the options. He has a lot of experience, while his use of the ball is very important to us. There’s also quality from him at set pieces.”

If Harte is selected, O’Shea would miss out unless Kerr opted to start him in midfield where he did well when pushed up against France and, conspicuously, featured in that role in a training match yesterday. Matt Holland is a certain starter in the middle but if Graham Kavanagh is to feature alongside him, the Wigan man will have to produce a vastly improved performance on his virtual no-show in Nicosia.

Kevin Kilbane, yet another missing in action in Nicosia, could earn the reprieve of a place out on the left, though his slide in form since the high of Paris means that he could be another to miss out.

Andy Reid will definitely start, though whether on the left or the right, depends on the Kilbane factor, something which could also open the door to Stephen Reid, who improved things somewhat when introduced on Saturday.

Upfront, the issue of whether Robbie Keane should start has generated the most heated debate. If Kerr was to act on the basis that a player is only as good as his last game, then Stephen Elliot would get the nod ahead of Ireland’s record goalscorer. But a persuasive argument for retaining faith in Keane is that, on the admittedly few occasions when they have had a chance to play together for both club and country, there has been encouraging evidence that Keane and Andy Reid operate on the same creative wavelength - that splendid second goal at home to Israel being a case in point.

With Clinton Morrison returning from suspension, it would therefore seem to be a clear head-to-head between the Crystal Palace man and Elliott for a starting place. For what it’s worth, this observer would start with the battle-hardened Morrison, in the knowledge that the lively and hungry Elliott could come off the bench if required. But, again, only one man in the country has the responsibility of making that call.

“Don’t presume that Robbie will start,” Kerr said, before making remarks that sounded like he definitely would. “If he plays I’m confident that he will be in very good form. He’s our leading goalscorer, and he’s a young man. In coming on for Spurs he has shown he can score goals, and we could do with a vital goal or two from him.” After the week that was in it, it was inevitable that Kerr would be asked if he’d been distracted by the criticism and speculation about his contract.

“Definitely not,” he said. “The only thing going on around me is the team, the game, the training sessions, looking at the options of who we might play in the play-offs. I’m fully focused on the preparations of the team, ensuring they are well and right and that we take the right options.”

He also revealed that he has spoken on the phone with Roy Keane. “I spoke to Roy yesterday. I’ve left it up to him as to whether he comes to the game or not. He just rang me.

“It was a general conversation about how he was coming on himself and how he saw the game on Saturday. I don’t know if he would be fit for a play-off. It’s a bit early yet to be discussing that.”

Tonight may be about keeping the World Cup dream alive but, after Cyprus last Saturday, it’s also about pride being restored in the green shirt. And the former without the latter seems frankly inconceivable.

Going into a crunch game without Roy Keane and Damien Duff, on the back of a dismal performance and against a Swiss team which is on (what else?) a bit of a roll - it all seems to argue for a torrid night for Irish football.

But it needn’t be that way.

While much of the most recent coverage has dwelt on the negative, it ought not to be forgotten that Ireland are still in with a chance of World Cup qualification thanks to their better efforts at home and abroad.

One thinks of Paris away, the undeserved loss to France at home, the opening 30 minutes against Israel in Dublin, and the bright starts that produced leads in Basel, Tel Aviv and even Cyprus.

What happened next, of course, is where all the problems began and, yesterday, Brian Kerr made a point of emphasising the need for discipline and concentration tonight. He also made it clear that he is thinking of nothing but victory, revealing that he has people “traipsing all over Europe” to watch prospective play-off opponents.

Yesterday, amid laughter about Uri Geller offering to lend a helping hand, Kerr suggested that Ireland didn’t need any extra help with motivation - though he did add that, on Monday night, the squad went to see ‘The Cinderella Man’, the story of Jim Braddock, the down and out fighter who got back up to become heavyweight champion of the world.

Despite what Brian Kerr might think after the last couple of weeks of media uproar, if Ireland can come off the ropes to land a knock-out blow tonight, the only people not celebrating in Lansdowne Road will be Swiss.

Republic of Ireland (possible): Given, Carr, Dunne, Cunningham, Harte, Reid A, Holland, Kavanagh, Kilbane, Morrison, Keane.