SOCCER:A COUPLE of years ago, Macedonia boss Mirsad Jonuz seemed intent on stirring it at every opportunity when he took his side to Scotland still, it seemed, in with a shout of a play-off place in part because George Burley's side had lost in Skopje.

Since then, it appears, the 48-year-old has mellowed a little, for at the Aviva Stadium last night he was every inch the diplomat.

He talked his team up, by all means, but was careful too to acknowledge the qualities of an Irish side that starts the day with hopes, however slim, that things in the game between Armenia and Russia might go their way and thus leave top spot in the group up for grabs this evening.

“This is a very strong and interesting group we are playing in, with the possible exception of Andorra, and that’s why this match is very difficult,” observed the man who had sent the Scottish media into a whirlwind of mock outrage by suggesting their managers seemed to exist in a state of permanent crisis and that the team had no chance of getting the results they needed to qualify for last year’s World Cup.

He had, of course, a bit of a point on the first count and was spot on, as it turned out, with regard to the second. But Burley’s men had enough to win by a couple of goals on the night, which may have served to soften Jonuz’s cough a little when it came to subsequent pre-match press conferences.

One prediction that proved well wide of the mark two years ago was that star striker Goran Pandev would again score two goals, as he had a little earlier in a friendly against Spain.

The Inter Milan striker has scored 23 international goals from his 57 appearances and has scored as many times for his country as the rest of the squad put together.

But critics point to the fact that the majority of those goals have come in friendly games not competitive qualifiers. He is still seen as posing their greatest threat, even if Jonuz warns that there is more to his side’s attacking game than just powerful the 27-year-old.

“Pandev does not play alone, there are many players playing with him who have to play for him to provide him with service.”

Goran Popov of Dynamo Kiev is reckoned to be the best of the support crew and the Irish will have to work hard to limit his influence from the flank in front of Kevin Foley.

Overall, some sort of upset can never be ruled out, although this is a game the home side should win.

The visitors have lost both their previous games in Dublin without scoring, but they did have a rather remarkable spell during the middle part of the last decade when they registered a few memorable results on the road, not least the scoreless draws in England and the Netherlands.

Lately, though, the goals have been hard to come by – they have not scored in their last four outings, and Jonuz’s suggestion that Andorra are the soft touches in an otherwise strong group is a significant enough admission given that the minnows are the only side that his side has beaten away in a competitive game since August 2006.