By Cathal Dervan

A FUNNY thing happened at Lansdowne Road the other night that just about sums up Stephen Staunton’s current luck -– or the lack of it –- as manager of our national football team.

Just days after the very public humiliation in Cyprus, Ireland’s worst performance ever by some distance, Staunton sent a patched up side out to face the critics and the Czechs.

The Group D European Championship qualifier at Lansdowne Road on Wednesday night of last week was only the third competitive game and the first at home of the Staunton era.

It was also, in many eyes, the most important, as practically every pundit and every bar room stool in the country seemed intent on calling for the head of a manager just nine months and six games in all into his career.

An injury and suspension list as long as the beach outside the Irish team’s hotel at Portmarnock didn’t help the pressure on the man from Dundalk who has gone from public hero to zero in a little less than a year.

Shay Given, Steven Reid, Ian Harte, Andy O’Brien, Paddy Kenny, Stephen Ireland, Richard Dunne, Stephen Carr, Kevin Doyle, Aiden McGeady, Liam Miller, Graham Kavanagh and Stephen Elliott were all missing from the team that started against the Czechs.

So the sense of trepidation around the oldest ground in world rugby for its last really big soccer match before redevelopment was understandable.

Before the game Staunton called on the fans, as well as his team, to stand up and be counted, and they didn’t let him down with an atmosphere that goal scorer Kevin Kilbane later described as the “best” he has played in at Lansdowne.

That’s some statement considering the fact that the East Stand visibly shook on the day Jason McAteer scored to send Holland tumbling out of the World Cup finals all of five years ago now.

But Kilbane was close to the truth. The noise when the crowd first sang “Stand Up For the Boys In Green,” had to be heard to be believed, and the collective adrenalin rush when the same Kilbane scored his first international goal in four years after 62 minutes was something to behold.

Therein lies the funny story. The first thing Kilbane did when he scored that goal was to run for the bench, to celebrate with those caught right in the line of fire as far as the self-opinionated critics are concerned.

As all hell broke loose around him, Kilbane found himself drowning in a sea of emotion and embraces as the Irish subs and those on the pitch rushed to surround him in his moment of glory.

One sub, Clinton Morrison to be precise, actually got a little carried away, threw out his hands in celebration and poked Kilbane right in the eye! Double vision ensued, so much so that the Everton midfielder was eventually forced off simply because he couldn’t see what was going on around him.

The fact that Kilbane missed the end of the 1-1 game because of the over zealous celebrations of his teammates just about summed up Staunton’s luck last week, but that really isn’t all that important right now.

What is important is that the Irish team and their management are still standing, that those who called for blood without offering any real alternatives -– Graeme Souness was bizarrely mentioned in one report last Sunday -– didn’t get what they came for at Lansdowne Road.

The draw with the Czechs won’t right many of Ireland’s current wrongs. There is no doubt that Lee Carsley played well enough on Wednesday night to question his omission against Cyprus, and there is little doubt that Robbie Keane needs to find his touch in front of goal again after missing a late sitter.

Nor is anyone here really buying into the theory that Ireland can still qualify for the European finals after the catastrophe of their own making in Nicosia.

What is certain, as he told the few prepared to listen before the Czech game, is that Stephen Staunton is going to be around for some time to come and I am, as few of you will be surprised to hear, glad to confirm that.

He is still, despite the misgivings of Cyprus, the right man to lead a new generation of Irish players forward.

He has already unearthed potential gems in Stephen Ireland and Paul McShane, man of the match against the Czechs on his debut last week, and more will follow.

Thankfully Stan now has the time on his side to see the job through -– even if Clinton Morrison had to stick his finger in it last week!