"What happens in-house should stay in-house" said Stephen Kenny when asked whether, in hindsight, aspects of the away trip to Slovakia should have been handled differently.
The Ireland manager was speaking to the media on Saturday afternoon, and while the objective was to look ahead to Sunday's game against Wales, the midweek defeat in Bratislava had to be first revisited.
Kenny was still coming to terms with the nature of the defeat – losing in a dramatic penalty shootout, having had several chances to win the game – however, he did express his disappointment with the travelling party's own Covid crisis, which disrupted the build-up to the game.
The former Dundalk boss said that he ended up spending a certain amount of time on matchday trying to resolve the situation which ruled Aaron Connolly and Adam Idah out of the game, when he could have been focusing on the match itself.
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"There's no doubt that it was hugely disappointing, hugely disappointing. We're very, very disappointed about that," said Kenny.
"Aaron was selected in the team and Adam would have been a good attacking option for us as well, and to find out on the matchday, and then a bit of a saga, because the possibility existed of an appeal.
"It wasn't good preparation on the matchday because we were having discussions about it and impact of it rather than match itself."
Ireland will have to do it all again following tomorrow’s home clash with Wales, as the squad has to fly out to Finland for an away game on Wednesday, but Kenny said that logistics for that trip were yet to be finalised as there are another set of Covid results due later this evening, having been tested again on Friday.
It's not something that should have arisen, and we're disappointed with it
But Kenny did appear frustrated by the fact that it was a non-essential member of the travelling party that caused the ommission of both Idah and Connolly.
"We'll only have the results this evening of the Covid tests from yesterday. In normal circumstances, you wouldn't have an issue with any of that. Certainly, it's not something that should have arisen, and we're disappointed with it.
"What happens in-house should sort of stay in-house," said Kenny, when asked about the overall operations of the Slovakia trip.
"But certainly, realistically, the person was a non-essential football member, he wasn’t a football member in terms of a crisis situation that travelled and that’s, that’s something that we have to live with."
So while the review of off-pitch affairs may yet remain unresolved, Kenny did admit, in relation to on-field matters, that an element of 'what might have been' remains, and the manager said that it is something that will stay with him for a long time.
However, he was again full of praise for his players and felt that they proved to themselves that they could now go toe-to-toe with the biggest teams in Europe.
"Yes, it’s something that we are going to have to live with for a long time," said Kenny.
"That’s the nature of penalty shootouts and the chances that we had to win the game, right at the end, in extra time.
They know themselves that we have a lot of potential in this team and that they are very capable footballers
"We showed, even without the players that we were missing and the changes and all of that, the players were excellent overall.
"The players have seen it with their own eyes, they realise themseleves and they’ve shown that they are good players and [know] what they are capable of.
"I don’t really have to say it. They know themselves that we have a lot of potential in this team and that they are very capable footballers, and are well capable of going toe-to-toe with the best teams."
The manager now has to plan without both Connolly and Idah, who have returned to their clubs in England as a result of the Covid regulations, while Kenny added that David McGoldrick would not be available for the Wales or Finland games.
"Obviously the two players that have been ruled out, Aaron Connolly and Adam Idah, and then David McGoldrick is out of this game with an abductor muscle injury that's going to rule him out of the two games against Wales and Finland.
"James McCarthy is not too bad, but we'll have to wait and see how he is in relation to the proximity of the game tomorrow, so he's doubtful.
"But he hasn't suffered any tear or anything like that. The scan has been okay there's good news on his scan."
And looking ahead to the game, the manager will make changes from the side that started in Slovakia, and while it was a gruelling 90 minutes, plus the added 30, Kenny still intends to name a strong side and stressed the importance of every Ireland game
"We have a lot to consider. The players played 120 minutes, but at the same time, every international is very important and every international is significant in the lives of the players, albeit there isn't a full house because of the current situation.
"Some may think it dilutes the importance of it, but it shouldn't, it still should be an occasion in itself, and all the players will want to play.
"All the players are very proud to play for Ireland. They are hurting at the moment, they are hurting after losing the other night.
"It's a huge disappointment to lose in the manner that we did because the players were absolutely excellent on the night, so we've got to review all of that."
