Once the dust has settled on the Republic of Ireland's latest World Cup heartache Giovanni Trapattoni's reign will be seen as a success.

Last night in Paris, a Republic side limited in terms of genuine world-class, but bursting with pride, commitment and ambition, very nearly pulled off what would have been one of the shocks of recent World Cup history.

Having lost the first leg of their play-off clash with European aristocrats France 1-0 at Croke Park on Saturday, Ireland had largely been written off by all but their most loyal allies.

Crucially, those who did not doubt their ability to put on a performance which would take them to next summer's finals in South Africa at the Stade de France, included Trapattoni and the 14 men he sent into battle.

That their dreams were ended by an agonising twist of fate - a blatant handball which went unseen by Swedish referee Martin Hansson - simply added to a growing catalogue of misfortune and, in the eyes of the conspiracy theorists, bias against the little man which has become part of Irish football folklore in recent decades.

Those wounds, like those inflicted in the past, will eventually heal and while the scars may still be visible, the Republic should take some solace from the events of the past 18 months.

Ireland's presence alone in the play-off is a reflection of the progress which has been made since Trapattoni decided the latest stop on his European tour would be in Dublin.

Four years ago, the Irish finished in fourth place in their qualifying group behind the French, Switzerland and Israel.

Their efforts to make Euro 2008 were similarly unsuccessful as they trailed in in third place, 12 points behind the Czech Republic and 10 adrift second-placed Germany.

By those standards, to have negotiated their 10 Group 8 games this time around without a single defeat is a notable achievement in itself, and to nudge Bulgaria into third place is equally commendable.

However, the facts tell only part of the story.

The record will show Ireland drew 1-1 with world champions Italy in Bari; they will not show they might have returned with all three points.

The record will also show they drew 2-2 with Marcello Lippi's men in Dublin; they will not show they were literally seconds away from victory in that match.

But it was perhaps last night's display in Paris which best illustrated the strides which have been taken under Trapattoni.

The Republic were not only desperately unfortunate not to win on the night, they could count themselves extremely unlucky not to be heading for South Africa, not just because of the manner in which they were denied, but because they thoroughly deserved to over the 120 minutes.

It would be wrong to claim Trapattoni has transformed the Irish into a free-flowing footballing power after unearthing a series of hidden treasures and telling them to go out and express themselves.

What he has done - and this is his art - is harnessed what talent he has at his disposal, adopted a system which makes best use of that ability and blended it with the raw passion and pride of a nation.

"It's important we believe in our performance, our mentality, our balance, our spirit. This is our strength," Trapattoni said ahead of the first leg against France, although the quote could have come from virtually any press conference he has conducted since taking over the reins.

It is a simple philosophy: he knows his squad simply cannot compete for individual brilliance with the likes of the Italians and the French, but, to use one of the few metaphors the 70-year-old has not yet employed, he is long enough in the tooth to know there is more than one way to skin a cat.

His way is often not pretty, but it has proved damned effective and last night, it very nearly achieved its goal.