Forget about the warnings of Greeks bearing gifts - Carla Ward hopes all her birthdays and Christmases come at once next month, courtesy of Ireland’s Nations League opponents. The Girls in Green head coach has asked her Greek counterpart Alexandros Katikaridis to do Ireland a huge favour when they meet Slovenia next month. Currently, Slovenia are three points clear of Ward’s side in League B, Group 2, going into the final window. Their next game, on May 30, is at home to Greece, while Ireland are away to Turkey - where wins for the top-two sides would turn the final group game in Pairc Uí Chaoimh into a shootout for top-spot, with Ireland needing a five-goal win to take first place on their head-to-head record. But if Greece were to do Ward a favour, it would make things a little easier in Cork. Katikaridis was speaking after Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat in Tallaght when he said: “I think we have already won the respect of all of our opponents. “We will all try to get the gift for Ireland. The gift the (Ireland) coach has asked for me is to beat Slovenia.” Ward, meanwhile, is ready to lead an attacking revolution with Ireland as they bid to clinch top-spot and secure promotion back to League A. The Girls in Green secured back-to-back wins over Greece - albeit with a more nervy finish last night than in Crete four days earlier, when they won 4-0. Amber Barrett’s ninth minute penalty and Anna Patten’s header early in the second-half should have led to a more comfortable finale, but the visitors pulled one back with 18 minutes to play. Ward was happy to come away from her second window in charge with six goals. But she acknowledged there was work to be done to sharpen an Irish attack that could be called on to score five in their final group game at home to Slovenia, if they are to clinch that coveted automatic promotion back to the top-tier. “They’re top players, elite players, I believe we can play in that (attacking) way,” said the former Aston Villa manager. “It’s just embedding it into their heads, because they’ve done a lot of defending over the years and, yeah, it is a little bit different. “But I’m one of those managers, I’ve always said, exciting to play and exciting to watch. “Yes, we’ll probably concede some along the way because of the way we play, but we’ve got to keep believing, keep moving forward. “And what I would say is what I said to the players, that these last ten days it’s gone up a level from the first camp, it really has, and the togetherness is there. “As I said to them this morning, an absolute non-negotiatable is three points, the performance on top would be good, and implementing other bits and pieces would be even better. “We’re getting there for sure.” Ward has been working hard in her limited time so far on the training pitch to change the shape and the focus of the team. Improving play in the final third is the aim and she said: “It’s definitely an area we need to keep building on. “Six goals across the two games is good but tonight they (Greece) dropped a little bit deeper at times and nullified some space for us. “But it’s an area we’re going to continue to work on, it’s an area we’re going to focus on in this camp and anyone that knows me knows I love attacking play, so there is a lot of work still to do. “I think I said it this week that a lot of credit has to go to the players. We’ve had seven tactical sessions since I’ve been in charge, if even seven. Maybe six. “And they’re really adapting what we’re asking them to do. They’re clear on it. “Look, they’ve played a certain way for many many years so it does take time. But that’s why the two wins are massive.” Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.