The periodic visits by Irish representative teams to Celtic Park for occasions such as tomorrow's testimonial game for Jackie McNamara tend to be viewed by the local supporters as a little bit special.

Tomorrow, however, the involvement of Brian Kerr's side is likely to prove slightly incidental to the proceedings in Glasgow, where even the celebration of the highly popular McNamara's 10 years at Celtic is set to be considerably overshadowed by an emotional farewell for manager Martin O'Neill.

The mood of the occasion will be influenced significantly by the result of today's Scottish Cup final against Dundee United.

But even if O'Neill's side were to compound last weekend's calamitous surrender of the league title to Rangers by suffering another defeat, the Irishman is certain to be given a hero's send-off.

O'Neill has said he is determined not to steal his players' thunder, but having guided Celtic to three titles in his five seasons there and also led them to a 2003 Uefa Cup final (defeated by Porto 3-2), he may not have much say in the matter.

McNamara, though, is unlikely to be complaining if he does not prove the centre of attention, for the game's importance to the club's supporters has been considerably enhanced by the manager's departure, and that is likely to impact significantly on an attendance that might otherwise have been seriously dented by its closeness to this afternoon's trip to Hampden.

Kerr's thoughts will be firmly fixed on next week's visit to Dublin by Israel and the first of two games in quick succession his side need to win if they are to stay on course to progress as winners of their World Cup group.

He said, however, he was glad to have the opportunity to be a part of tomorrow's occasion and dismissed the suggestion the Irish are visiting Celtic at the end of a week during which the club has descended into turmoil.

"I don't think you could call it that although there's no doubting how much disappointment there will have been around the place after the way things ended for them last weekend," he said.

"I think the change of manager thing has been handled very well because they've managed to avoid the prolonged bout of speculation that usually accompanies this sort of situation. That's good for everybody, although obviously the supporters will be hugely disappointed to see Martin O'Neill go after the success he has enjoyed during his time in charge of the club."

Kerr reiterated yesterday tomorrow's game was primarily an opportunity to maintain the sharpness of players, most of whom have not played a competitive game in two weeks or more.

The Dubliner says most, if not all, will get a run out, though he seems likely to start with a strong side that includes many of the team's key regulars.

One or two players may still hope to influence the manager's team selection next weekend, when the absence of Roy Keane through suspension will create a vacancy in the centre of Ireland's midfield for Graham Kavanagh or Matt Holland to fill.

When asked to weigh up their respective strengths yesterday, Kerr insisted there was little to pick between the pair, but he will probably already have privately settled on his starting line-up for Saturday's game.

He suggested as much when he played down the importance of tomorrow's outing in terms of team selection, pointing out he had seen a good deal of the players in competitive action for their clubs in recent months.

For young striker Stephen Elliott the game will provide an opportunity to play against a club he supported as a boy but turned down in favour of a move to Sunderland when they came looking to sign him from Manchester City last year.

"I suppose I followed my head rather than my heart," said the 21-year-old yesterday.

"It's a great club but I suppose after my time at Manchester City I was worried by the thought of going up there and then not playing . . . I went to look at Sunderland, I had a good feeling about the place, and I knew it was the right move for me."