LEE Carsley firmly believes Irish eyes will be smiling in Skopje tonight when his Republic of Ireland team-mates can clinch a place in next summer's Euro 2000 finals jamboree.

And the Blackburn Rovers midfielder then aims to compensate for the disappointment of sitting out the crucial international qualifier against Macedonia by recovering from injury for the return to First Division action next Saturday.

With Roy Keane out of action, Carsley would have been a certain starter at the hub of midfield for the Republic tonight.

But he had to return to Blackburn for treatment on Tuesday after the Irish team doctor quashed his hopes of being fit to play in Macedonia.

Victory tonight, coupled with defeat or even a draw for Yugoslavia who are away to bitter rivals Croatia, will see the Republic automatically through to the finals.

Having tasted the mood in their camp earlier in the week, Carsley has no doubts they will claim a play-offs place at the very least.

"The atmosphere is really buzzing and we have a great chance of qualifying," he said.

"There's a heck of a lot at stake but I am sure we have enough in our squad to do it and we will be going into it off the back of three decent games." Carsley expects to follow the action via Teletext and he does not underestimate Macedonia, who were beaten 1-0 in Dublin in the first clash.

But he will be looking for Ewood team-mate Alan Kelly to keep a clean sheet at one end and multi-million pound whizz kid Robbie Keane to pinch a goal at the other.

Keane is aiming for his ninth goal from 11 games - for three different teams! - to underline his hot streak and Carsley feels his international colleague is developing in the right way.

"A lot of people questioned him going to Coventry," he said.

"But I think it was a very good move for him.

"There might have been more pressure on him at another club.

"He's a confident lad and there's a lot of confidence among the players that we can do it. But Macedonia are quite a stubborn side and they will get a lot of men behind the ball."

If Carsley had not had pain-killing injections to play for Rovers at QPR last Saturday, he might well have been able to make tonight's international date.

But he put his club cause first.

"I needed an injection just to play," he added.

"But it seems to have stirred things up.

"There's nothing broken, it's just bruising of the bone. I can run around okay but I just can't kick the ball properly.

"I've done a bit of training this week and I'm hoping I'll be okay for the Grimsby game." With Carsley sidelined and Jason McAteer starting his comeback from injury, Kelly is likely to be the only Rovers player in Mick McCarthy's starting line-up tonight.

But Damien Duff and Jeff Kenna could both be on the subs bench, ready to play a part in a crucial game.

Matt Jansen scored as Rovers drew 1-1 in a private practice match against Manchester City at Brockhall when long-term absentee Billy McKinlay was able to have his first 25 minutes of action for months.

Craig Short was eased back after his hamstring injury and Jason McAteer also played again. "It was a great exercise, very useful for both clubs and it was good for Billy to get a break from all his remedial work," said Rovers boss Brian Kidd.

Barnsley are considering making a bid to sign Keith Brown on a permanent basis. There could be developments over the weekend.

Scotland, already assured of a play-offs place, were in action against Lithuania this afternoon with nothing meaningful at stake in their final qualifier.

Callum Davidson and Christian Dailly were both in line to play their second game this week after enjoying 90 minutes against Bosnia.

Northern Ireland, also playing for pride in Finland, could give Ewood's Damien Johnson a sub appearance in their game which kicks off at 5pm (our time) in Helsinki.

Later on tonight, Nathan Blake will be looking for a Welsh goal as they complete their qualifying games against Switzerland at Wrexham.

And Per Frandsen is hoping for a recall to the Denmark side tomorrow after winning back his place in the squad for the friendly with Iran.

Yound Ewood defender Peter Murphy was on the bench as Eire under-21s beat Macedonia 1-0 yesterday.

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