Georgia boss Vladimir Weiss is hoping to claim an impressive double by guiding the nation to its first major tournament finals.

The 52-year-old, who achieved just that feat with his native Slovakia at the 2010 World Cup finals, will take charge of his second competitive game against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Thursday evening knowing qualification may be a tall order this time around, but optimistic all the same.

Weiss said: “I hope we can try to do the same in the future, but it’s not easy. When I started as coach of the Slovakia national team, it was the same situation as I have now in Georgia.

“But we are moving forward step by step, day by day. When I took the Georgia job, I saw a lot of games and a lot of unlucky losses, and I saw the potential because there are a lot of talented players, a lot of technical players.

“But sometimes they make mistakes physically or tactically. That’s our job and I hope we can make step by step a good team and get results.

“At this moment, I don’t know if it’s possible to do the same, but I hope for a sweet future for Georgian football.”

Weiss, who led Slovakia to two Euro 2012 qualifier draws with Ireland, will be without defender Ucha Lobjanidze at the Aviva Stadium after he suffered an injury in training.