Ray Houghton believes the fact that Ireland's players are accustomed to playing against many of those who will be lining out for opposition nations at Euro 2016 means there won't be any reason for fear.
The increased globalisation in football which has impacted English football as well as European competitions means the opposition players will not be unknown to the Irish squad.
Speaking to Newstalk's Team 33 at the #PowerofGreen event, Houghton contrasted to his own time.
"I don't think the players are afraid because they see these players more often than not, whether it be the Europa League, Champions League or wherever it is or playing against them domestically. They know the players," he said.
"That wasn't always the case. Back when we were playing, it was predominantly British players. There weren't a lot of foreign players that were there [in the English top flight]. You only saw them when you played international matches and that was a little bit different.
"Whereas now the lads know each other very, very well and are virtually going to play against each other, so I'm sure they're not fazed by it at all."
Houghton also reminisced about memories from the adventures of Euro 88, World Cup 1990 and USA '94.
You can listen to the full interview on the podcast player or stream for free on iTunes:
Ray Houghton was speaking at the launch of SSE Airtricity's summer football campaign at Aviva Stadium. All customers who switch to SSE Airtricity will now receive the new official Ireland football jersey free, as well as 15% off their home energy.
Fans can get theirs free by switching to SSE Airtricity today. For more information on how to switch, please visit www.sseairtricity.com.
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