If Ireland’s last competitive outing is anything to go by, we should take nothing for granted in a friendly against Andorra.
That forgettable March defeat at home to fellow minnows Luxembourg has left Ireland tied bottom of their World Cup qualifying group.
And it’s a result that will forever haunt Stephen Kenny who on Thursday goes in search of his first win as Ireland manager at the 12th time of asking.
But defender John Egan is confident that a much-needed victory at Estadi Nacional in Andorra will lay foundations for better times ahead.
Egan said: "No matter who you play, you want to win. Obviously we’ve not won in a while so we’re eager to get that win.
“And I believe that one win can give you the springboard to get a few more and that’s the plan now.
“It’s about getting some momentum. A win always brings a feelgood factor into the camp and that’s the main thing.”
Kenny is using the Spanish training camp in Girona and the Andorra and Hungary friendlies to blood more newcomers and fine tune others ahead of the key World Cup qualifiers.
Those March defeats to Serbia and Luxembourg have left the Boys in Green with it all to do to make any inroads into the group.
They travel to heavy hitters Portugal on September 1 before hosting Azerbaijan and Serbia in front of a Dublin crowd days later.
And with Kenny tasked with showing signs of progress in order to win a new contract, the pressure is well and truly on.
Sheffield United ace Egan said: “It was far from the start we wanted, but we’re only two games in and anything can happen.
“It's going to be tough, there's no doubt about that. We're definite outsiders now but all we can do is to look to the next game and try to get a result.
"You have to keep going no matter what the situation is. If you get a bit of momentum you never know so, for me, it's all about the next game."
Egan missed the last five internationals because of injury and his last appearance only lasted 14 minutes as he was concussed in the Wembley friendly with England.
Before that, he was ruled out of the Nations League games against Wales and Finland as a close contact of an Ireland player who tested positive for Covid-19.
So his Ireland career under Kenny has been extremely stop-start but Egan is one of the players that Kenny speaks about the most.
His distribution from centre-back is repeatedly lauded by the manager who feels Egan is key to getting Ireland playing off the front foot.
And despite the results, the Corkman is adamant that Kenny’s changing of the guard and blooding of youngsters will pay off in the long run.
Egan continued: “The fans have been a big loss but there have been some really good performances.
“The biggest game we probably played was the Slovakia game and that was a really good performance and we should have put that game to bed.
“That's the one thing I look back on as we had a really good chance of reaching the Euros so it was disappointing that we didn't win the game.
"But you could see the way that the manager wanted to play. The lads were really taking to it and there have been some really good performances without the results.
“But it's a results' business and we know that. We want to win games, we want to give the country a team that they are proud to support and proud to watch.
"That's all we’re trying to do. We're all hungry and are all eager to work with the manager and go out there and get results for the country.”
That is why Thursday's friendly clash in Andorra carries more weight than it might have ordinarily.
Kenny is bullish about what these players will eventually achieve but he needs a change in fortunes and it has to start somewhere.
Egan added: “Every game for your country is huge. It’s not a qualifier, we’ve two friendlies, but we’re all eager in this camp to get a result.
“It’s a very young squad and a huge opportunity for the new lads coming in to stake a claim and show they’re good players.
“You could be 18 or 32 when you get your chance. It’s all about taking that chance and trying to enjoy it as well.
“We’ll go into the game with confidence and hopefully we can turn the corner soon and get some momentum by winning matches.
“The aim for everybody is to try and play in big tournaments for Ireland.”
