When Glenn Hoddle was manager of England, he caused a storm with his 1998 World Cup diary which was published while he was still in the job, and McCarthy’s book contains sensitive details concerning Roy Keane’s controversial dismissal from the Irish squad just a couple of weeks before the finals in Korea in Japan.

But Birmingham defender Cunningham has insisted the Irish players remain unaffected by McCarthy’s revelations and are focused on the football rather than anything else.

"It is a matter of opinion and everyone is entitled to their own," said Cunningham.

"With the position Mick is in, particularly in relation to what happened in the summer, there is going to be a lot of interest in what he is going to say, but that is Mick’s prerogative.

"If he wants to put his feelings down in print he is entitled to do so. It is not something which particularly occupies the players’ thoughts and I don’t think it has affected the squad. The lads spend the majority of their time in England and the vast media interest is primarily based in Ireland.

"I don’t think it puts any extra pressure on the squad. Maybe it would be different if we were on a six-game losing streak and confidence was low. But that is not the case. We have lost one game and come off the back of what we believe was a successful World Cup campaign. There is no feeling of negativity and inside the squad the feeling is good."

Cunningham insisted it was time to look forward, rather than at the events surrounding the whole Keane saga, which means concentrating on qualification for Portugal.

"It is not going to go away but it is not the main topic of conversation either," he said.

"Everyone has had their say and I think everyone is a little bit exhausted by the whole thing. There are too many important games ahead of us - we can’t affect what has happened in the past, all we can do is look forward. We can’t concern ourselves with things we have no control over.

"It’s not the first thing which pops into my head when I wake up in the morning, nor the last thing I think about at night.

"Roy is such a massive personality and player that I can understand how the story runs and runs. We have responsibility to stay focused but it is not a big effort. I don’t give it a lot of thought. I am not being disrespectful to Roy, but I have no influence as to what happens in that direction, so it is a waste of energy from my point of view."

McCarthy’s squad for tomorrow’s 'must-win' match is down to 19 players after Southampton midfielder Rory Delap withdrew yesterday with a calf strain. He joins Jeff Kenna and Andy O’Brien who also pulled out through injury.

Celtic’s Colin Healy may be given a chance to fill in on the right side of midfield, or else Gary Kelly will be pushed forward with John O’Shea being handed a start at right-back.