Shane Long has earned a regular role with Republic of Ireland and admits he now needs to 'step up' and nail it down.
Confidence
Long is confident that Ireland can reach Brazil 2014, with a goalless draw in Sweden on Friday having kept them in the hunt for a play-off spot.
Ahead of a crucial home date with Austria on Tuesday, Long added: "It was not easy to go to Sweden and get a point, but we are happy with our performance. We will go into Tuesday night full of confidence.
"It's a massive game. Austria will be on a high after beating the Faroe Islands, it's going to be a tough game. We're under no illusions but I think we need to be winning those games to qualify for the play-offs.
"Nobody expected us to top the group. Germany were always going to be favourites and Friday's draw can be a turning point in the group for us.
"Hopefully we can go on and get the three points against Austria and really take a big step towards the play-offs."
