Republic of Ireland interim manager Noel King has insisted that he would not be embarrassed if his side lost to Kazakhstan in their final World Cup qualifying match tomorrow.
Ireland saw their distant hopes of qualification officially extinguished by a 3-0 defeat to Germany on Friday, while Kazakhstan have been out of contention for some time.
King was keen to emphasise the importance of the match in regards to potential seedings for the 2016 European Championships qualifying campaign, but insists that he would only be embarrassed at failing to win if his team did not perform.
"It depends on the manner of game. The expectation is, because of Ireland who we are, we think we are the greatest thing since sliced pan, we do and I do myself. If I was sitting in the stand, I'd be saying, 'We'll beat Kazakhstan'. But I'm not. We are here, we have a game to get on. We have got to start it, you don't know what happens," King told PA.
"Would it be an embarrassment for me? If apply ourselves and do well and do the basics correctly and we were beaten, no I wouldn't be embarrassed. That's football, you have got to live with that. But if we didn't perform and didn't do the approach and weren't dominant in phases, then I would be hugely upset.
"Would I be embarrassed? No, because I am an honest, hard-working coach from Dublin and if I do the right things and I keep my honour and the boys apply themselves, then I have no difficulty with that."
Tomorrow's match is likely to be King's last game as interim manager as the FAI look for a permanent replacement for Giovanni Trapattoni.
