Former Republic of Ireland international Stephen Elliott says that it's time for Stephen Kenny to start delivering results and revealed that he has doubts about whether the Ireland manager can turn his team’s form around.
Kenny has just one win from his last 15 games, with that lone victory coming in a friendly against Andorra, and after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan, there are fresh questions about the direction Ireland are heading in.
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, Elliott said that while Wednesday’s performance against Portugal in their 2-1 defeat was heartening, the good work was undone with the nature of their display against Azerbaijan.
"Everybody was full of positives after the performance over in Faro in midweek and you’re going into the home game against Azerbaijan," Elliott said.
"I know international teams are improving across Europe and across the world but I still think that with us at home, the crowd back in the ground, you expect us to go on and win that game.
"I know we had a lot of possession and they scored at a horrible time, right with the last kick of the first half, but I was disappointed, if I’m honest.
"After the Portugal game I expected a lot more from the team, a little bit more of a cutting edge. Bar the first 15 minutes, which wasn’t bad, it became lacklustre. Moving the ball slowly, it just became a similar performance.
"It’s very disappointing drawing at home with Azerbaijan and I don’t know where we go from here.
"Everybody wanted Stephen to come in and do well and he’s obviously trying to change the mindset of our national football squad. That’s great but we have to start getting results.
"We can’t keep having these discussions over and over again, saying that if we get a result on Tuesday the mood will be lifted."
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Ireland take on Serbia on Tuesday and Josh Cullen has already admitted that it's a 'must-win’ game.
However Kenny’s record in 11 competitive games reads seven defeats and four draws and Elliott is not hopeful that the manager can turn things around.
"There comes a stage when you’ve to look at the last 15 games and one win against Andorra and a couple of draws, it’s bordering on embarrassing, results-wise.
"For me, there are major questions out there about Stephen.
"I was all for Stephen coming in and doing well, getting it down and playing football and that’s great if you have that new philosophy but that’s not the only thing about managing an international team. You have to be able to motivate these players, to make them go over the extra yard to win games.
"I’m not sure that Stephen Kenny is getting that out of the squad."
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