The Republic of Ireland will begin to undo the damage of Friday night's defeat as they welcome Gibraltar to the Aviva Stadium for tonight’s Euro 2024 qualifier.
But in truth, even a comprehensive victory over the group’s lowest seeds will do little to erase the engrained memories of an awful away day in Athens.
The hurt of that defeat to Gus Poyet’s side and the manner of the performance will linger a lot longer throughout the summer months ahead of the resumption of the campaign.
What waits for Stephen Kenny’s side in September is a double-header from hell, as Ireland travel to Paris to take on World Cup finalists, France, before a home clash against the group’s top seeds, the Netherlands, three days later.
Stephen Kenny said he expects to remain in charge of Ireland for the remainder of their Euro 2024 campaign
Any confidence that came from a decent showing in the group opener against France, combined with the extended team-building Antalya adventure was extinguished in the Greek capital, and there is very little that the manager can do between now and September to restore it ahead of that daunting double-header.
To be fair to the Ireland boss, he made no excuses after the defeat, and he has come out fighting ahead of the Gibraltar game, attempting to project real positivity ahead of tonight’s match and beyond into the September games.
Kenny said he has sought no assurances regarding his immediate future from the association, while he fully expects to be in charge right up to the end of his contract at the conclusion of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
"You can't look too far ahead. We are here today [Sunday] because we have a game tomorrow. We can't disrespect anyone," said Kenny, when asked how he was going to restore the confidence in his side ahead of the September games.
"Gibraltar is a match we are looking to win, it is a game we have to win if we are serious about qualifying.
"There is no point in discussing anything beyond that at the moment. We'll focus on that and make sure we are ready."
Looking ahead to Gibraltar, the manager confirmed that there were no injury issues ahead of the Lansdowne Road encounter, although Matt Doherty will be ruled out of the game through suspension following his late red card in Athens.
Kenny did confirm that there would be a "fresh impetus" regarding the look of his starting XI, while Doherty’s absence means that there will definitely be a change in the right wing-back position.
With Seamus Coleman also ruled out through injury, Alan Browne looks likely to start in that position, while James McClean starting as captain looks set to relegate Callum O’Dowda to the bench.
Dara O’Shea should be handed a start in the three-man defence, although McClean’s ascension to captain has nothing to do with potentially leaving John Egan out of the team – the Derry man is wearing the armband to mark his 100th international cap.
Darragh Lenihan is the man likely to make way, although Kenny was quick to defend him at the pre-match press conference, stating that the player "has had an excellent season where he has been a leader for Middlesbrough".
There is not one outfield player that could safely say that they deserve to start following the shocking performance in Greece. However, there will still be a strong element of continuity to the team as Kenny will be thinking about those September games and his ideal formation.
Kenny said that he works off two formations, the 3-5-2, which was employed in Greece, and the 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3, which may be how the team sets up tonight.
There is hardly a need for three central midfielders against a side like Gibraltar, which means that the manager can really set out an attacking formation that should, on this occasion, prove more impressive than the last outing.
Josh Cullen has been one of Kenny’s favourites throughout the three-year tenure but the manager must be tempted to ask Jeff Hendrick to sit in there and use his passing and vision to drive the side forward.
The team also really need to start mixing up their approach and take the example from the European and Premier League champions and embrace the odd long ball or two aimed into the target man, moving the play from front to back a lot quicker on occasion.
Kenny's side could also take a tip from Friday's opponents and start hitting shots from outside the area instead of trying to always play through the final line of defence.
There was an argument for bringing Hendrick on in Athens when the side desperately needed someone who could, at least, put their foot on the ball and attempt to control the tempo of the game – the 31-year-old must be wondering what his role is in the squad if not asked to do a job, especially against lower-ranked sides.
It could be a toss-up between Jayson Molumby and Jason Knight to see who is asked to play the energetic role in the middle of the park with the latter perhaps better placed to link up with the front three.
Kenny said before the Greece game that he did not feel pressure to play Evan Ferguson from the start as he believes that the young Brighton forward is currently the top Irish striker and in the team on merit.
Ferguson was instrumental in the goal in Athens, and is probably going to be asked to lead the line again to give him more international experience. However, Michael Obafemi will also be expecting to start following his short, sharp cameo on Friday.
Neither Mikey Johnston, Will Smallbone, or Adam Idah did enough to secure a guaranteed start, but the manager will be keen to keep them involved at some stage against the inferior opposition.
Johnston could be handed the left-sided attacking role to see how he fares when starting an international game, while the manager will have to choose from Troy Parrott, Smallbone or Obafemi on the right.
Whatever XI takes to the pitch tonight, expect a high-octane start in an attempt to get the vital first goal as early as possible to get rid of that post-Athens hangover and avoid the unlikely possibility of a shock result.
Gibraltar, like most teams who play Ireland, will feel that they are playing against a side lacking in confidence, and have come to Dublin preparing for a game they consider a cup final.
There really is little or no chance that Gibraltar can cause an upset in Dublin. However, from the Ireland manager’s perspective, anything other than a comprehensive victory and he may find himself caught between a rock and a very hard place.
Watch Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar in the Euro 2024 qualifier on Monday night from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live radio commentary with Game On on 2fm
