ADVER SPORTS EDITOR AND IRELAND FAN OWEN HOULIHAN PREVIEWS THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND'S EURO 2016 CAMPAIGN

SO what did we do to deserve this again?

In 2012 the Republic of Ireland’s euphoria at reaching only our second-ever European Championship finals – and first for 24 years – was quickly tempered at the draw ceremony, as Giovanni Trapattoni’s men found themselves plunged into a group alongside Italy – World Cup winners just six years previously – a ludicrously talented Croatia side, oh and reigning world and European champions Spain.

Suffice to say the stay of the boys in green in Poland and the Ukraine four years ago proved a fleeting one, briefly memorable only for a Sean St Ledger equaliser (yes, really) in an opening 3-1 defeat to the Croats – and a rousing 10-minute supporters’ rendition of the Fields of Athenry in the 4-0 loss to Spain that reduced a German match commentator to stunned silence and prompted this waspish put-down from a disgusted Roy Keane.

“I think the players and even the supporters, they all have to change their mentality, it’s just nonsense from players speaking after the games about how great the supporters are.

"I’m not too happy with all that nonsense,’’ he opined from the ITV studio in Warsaw as the Emerald Army took the plaudits from all sides for good humour and unwavering support in the face of considerable on-field adversity.

Ah…….Roy. Acid-mouthed, uncompromising, World Cup-quitting, yet strangely now slightly-lovable ‘bad cop’ Roy.

No longer to be found wearing a look of thinly-concealed disgust as he shares airtime alongside Lee Dixon, but instead donning the tracksuit as assistant to Martin O’Neill to plot Ireland’s route out of another ‘Group of Death’ this time around.

For Spain, Italy and Croatia, read Belgium (ranked second in the world), those Italians again and a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Sweden in a Group E that could charitably be described as ‘challenging.’

So, any reasons to be cheerful?

Well, Belgium – for all their star quality and purring from the pundits – have yet to really deliver on their undoubted talent at the top table and in the admittedly at-times bizarre FIFA world rankings, O’Neill’s men are actually situated above the Swedes.

As for Italy, well we do have form for upsetting them in major tournaments, New York in World Cup 1994 sitting enjoyably in the file alongside England in Stuttgart in Euro 88.

The Irish also emerged – again via the play-offs – after a bruising qualifying group that saw them lose just once in four encounters against Germany and Poland, including a famous 1-0 Dublin success over the world champions.

And an expanded tournament, offering some third-placed teams a route through to the knockout stages that means one good result could alter the outlook considerably.

Maybe then, just maybe.

But back to our old friend Roy, whose motivational techniques were again to the fore after the team had the temerity to lose a meaningless pre-tournament friendly against Belarus.

He subsequently back-tracked – a little – from barbs which included accusing winger Aiden McGeady of wasting his career, branding some as “lucky’’ to have made the tournament squad and joking that he “wanted to kill’’ a few of them.

However, when Roy walked, effing and blinding, out of the training camp at the 2002 World Cup, the rest of Mick McCarthy’s squad pulled together and made a commendable against-the-odds run to the knockout stages.

So perhaps the Keane effect does work after all?