Listen to the full interview above via the Off The Ball Football Show podcast

With Ireland knowing the identity of the opponents in their Euro 2016 qualifying group, Martin O'Neill has a much clearer idea of the necessary preparation for that campaign.

Tomorrow night's friendly match against Serbia is the first major test before the Euro 2016 qualifiers kick off in September, and as O'Neill told Joe today, it helps focus the mind.

"Of course, with the draw being made last week, it really gets your attention focused on the matches coming up in September. I know many teams have a World Cup to look forward to but from our viewpoint, there are still some matches to play to try and be as ready as possible for September," said the Ireland manager, who also discussed the difficulties of having such a short space of time to work with the players.

He also spoke to Joe about the things he hopes to see from his team against Serbia.

"First of all, we're at home so I would like to see some attacking play. I'd like to take the game to Serbia if at all possible and players really expressing themselves. When we talk about players expressing themselves, generally we mean forwards taking players on and a goalscorer having a shot or two at goal. It also means players defensively doing their job as well as they possibly can. The onus is on us to come and attack because we're at home."

O'Neill also gave his reaction to Ireland's Euro 2016 fixture list with Joe and the difficulties for the Boys in Green.