The wait is almost over for Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane's first game in charge of Ireland. Before the Boys In Green face Latvia, John Giles assessed the new management team on Off The Ball.

Giles reckons O'Neill's relative failure at Sunderland will benefit Ireland. And he also thinks Keane's time out of the game will have done him the world of good.

"Sometimes you get an international manager who is getting on a bit and doesn't quite have the hunger to do it. Martin thinks he has something to prove after the Sunderland affair and it's obvious Roy Keane thinks he has something to prove. So they're both hungry to do well. I think that's a very important aspect of it."

O'Neill who has been involved in club management for over two decades might assume that he might be less busy than having a day-to-day role in a team. But Giles thinks he will have his hands full.

"He'll probably be busier than he expects to be. First of all, it's quite a busy job going to see all the players that you know and then the players that you don't know. That's a very important part of the job because you can't have too much knowledge of players. For example, Roy Keane knows more about players in the last few years when he's been going to matches than when he first went into management at Sunderland."

One of the players that O'Neill will definitely be looking at is Stephen Ireland whose self-imposed exile may come to an end.

Giles has little sympathy for Ireland's "plight" and believes the solution is easy for his return.

©INPHO/James Crombie

"The Stephen Ireland thing is absolutely absurd. He let it be know through his wife that he was prepared to meet the management halfway and this time he's said he'd like to have a chat with O'Neill and Keane. About what?! It's a very simple situation. All he has to do is write to the FAI or Martin O'Neill and say he now wishes to return to the national team if required."

But Giles acknowledges that Ireland would be an "asset" based on his talent and recent form for Stoke City.

Meanwhile, Giles encourages the new management duo to tap into the Granny Rule and attract players who actually want to play for the Boys in Green to augment a team which he considers to be as good, if not better than Sweden.

"If it's legitimate and within the laws of the game, then get whoever you can if they're going to contribute to the Irish cause. That's what's happened in the past and the players we have recruited in that way have been excellent."

In terms of the football, a more "gung-ho" approach than the Giovanni Trapatonni era.

Listen to the full interview via the podcast or download on iTunes. 

©INPHO/James Crombie