This week Martin O'Neill confirmed that he will attend Thursday's Europa League second round qualifier between Dundalk and Croatia's Hajduk Split as the Ireland manager takes a closer look at the SSE Airtricity League.

But is it possible to judge a player's performance on a one-off European tie when levels will naturally be raised to match the opposition?

Roddy Collins and Stuart Byrne were in studio tonight and they gave their take on that issue and Roddy believes that players rise or are brought down by the level of football they happen to be playing at.

"You can't see them at that level every week," said Roddy. "Let's say Stuey plays against Hajduk Split and he plays at a level in both games, then that's his level. So if he's allowed to play at that level every week, he will play at that level. But we don't get the opportunity here."  

Stuey added: "The reality is that the players who can raise their game, to me they're the players you need to be able to look at. I think to a fairly astute football person, they can see that and there are certain things you can look for in the player. So if those players are good enough, they merit being looked at further." 

The lads also chatted about the encouraging performances in the Europa League qualifiers for Dundalk, Sligo Rovers and Derry City who all advanced from the first qualifying stage with relative comfort.

Stuey also delved into the tactical education that European football provided for him during his career.