Irish luck could be key - Dunne

Richard Dunne is hoping the luck of the Irish can help give Giovanni Trapattoni's team an edge over their Euro 2012 rivals.

The Ireland defender and his team-mates are now a little more than a week away from their opening Group C fixture against Croatia in Poznan, and excitement levels are rising both inside the camp at their Tuscany training base and back at home.

Dunne firmly believes the current Ireland side can compete against the Croatians and there other group opponents Spain and Italy, and said: "We know we are as organised as anyone and as strong as anyone, so it's just about hopefully having that little bit of luck that can help us progress."

Asked outright if Ireland can qualify for the latter stages, he said: "Yes. There's no point in us being here otherwise.

"We have to have the belief that we can go all the way and win the tournament - but then every team that's there will believe the same thing."

Trapattoni and his players have spent the last week working under the Tuscan sun in the spa town of Montecatini, and despite the drama of Kevin Foley's unexpected exit in midweek, are in positive mood as they prepare for Monday's friendly against Hungary in Budapest.

Dunne said: "The atmosphere is really good, really positive. We are a close bunch of friends anyway, so the longer we spend together, the better the atmosphere is and we know that when we go into the games, we are going to fight for each other."

Dunne played in the 1-0 friendly victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday and had another, shorter, run-out against a Tuscan Select XI on Tuesday night, and he showed few ill-effects of his lengthy lay-off with a fractured collarbone last season.

The Aston Villa defender said: "I have been training for two months nearly, and I played the last three games, and was then involved on Saturday and again the other night, so I feel fine."