Trap: Don't compare us to Charlton era

"We understand which team we are and I am proud about this situation. We are not the Irish team like 15 years ago. That was another team.

"I am happy that we have achieved this important result and now we go to the play-offs," said Trapattoni.

Surprisingly, the Irish boss admitted that Armenia had better players and a better approach to the game.

"Armenia played very, very well in the first-half and it was very difficult to control them. They played better than us," added Trapattoni.

"But I said that in this game we would see our maturity and how the team has improved. Not just the system but also the interpretation of the game.

"Armenia are one of the best in the group, very good technically, quick and pacey so this is a very good result. But the job is only 50pc done. We have a play-off to play."

However, Trapattoni did point out that for all Armenia's dominance and superiority on the ball, his defence held firm.

"I can accept that Armenia played very well but I don't remember any difficult situations for Shay Given. There was no luck about this result."

Trapattoni also accepts that Ireland will have to play at a much higher level if qualification for Euro 2012 is to be achieved.

"We will have to play better; a lot of the play-offs teams will be different from Armenia," he added. "But I am confident. Maybe we are not a team with 2, 3, 4 creative players but we have a good personality, a good attitude and a good balance.

"We started this game under pressure because the team knows that the Irish people wait for success. The rugby team lost against Wales so we knew we could give the national morale a lift.

"They had a big weight on their shoulders. They had the responsibility of keeping a nation's hope alive and it is a big responsibility."