Giovanni Trapattoni is not taking anything for granted despite Ireland's 4-0 win over Estonia in their Euro 2012 play-off first leg.
Boss refuses to get carried away
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni is not taking anything for granted despite his side's thumping 4-0 win over Estonia in their Euro 2012 play-off first leg.
A brace from Robbie Keane as well as goals from Keith Andrews and Jonathan Walters made it a memorable night in Tallinn and virtually sealed Ireland's place at next summer's tournament in Poland and the Ukraine.
A party atmosphere is now guaranteed for next week's second leg in Dublin, with a footballing miracle needed to deny Ireland a spot at a major tournament for the first time since 2002.
However, Trapattoni is refusing to get carried away and urged caution ahead of Tuesday's return game.
"The cat is in the sack, but the sack is not closed. The cat is in it, but it's open - and it's a wild cat," said the 72-year-old.
"In my opinion, we deserved to win. Maybe we were helped after the first goal by the sending-off - at 11 v 10, we had more opportunities to score goals.
"But we have to have respect for our opponents for what they have achieved in this qualification campaign.
Jump the gun
"At this moment, we are near qualifying at 4-0. But I repeat the same sentence: don't jump the gun.
"I have been many times at the edge of a cliff. I know these situations. I have been to many big tournaments and matches like this are what I call top level matches.
"But it's not necessarily important to achieve one objective, we have to focus on what comes next.
"This is my law. I never look back, I always look forward."
