The prospect of Stephen Kenny's tenure as Republic of Ireland manager coming to an end, as his contracts approaches its conclusion, has become 'a question of when not if', according to former Boys in Green international Keith Treacy.
Ireland's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 are effectively over through the Group B route, compounded by defeats to powerhouses France and the Netherlands during the September window.
The backdoor route of a playoff is also uncertain due to the impact of the Irish side's current status in the UEFA Nations League rankings, meaning they will require as many higher-ranked teams as possible to qualify directly.
Following Sunday's 2-1 defeat to the Dutch, which means Ireland have now lost four from five in the qualifying group with three matches still to go, RTÉ analyst Richie Sadlier said that "there is no argument that anyone can make credibly saying that (Kenny) deserves a new contract".
The Ireland manager's contract runs until the end of the campaign and speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, Treacy feels that will also mark the longest-term end point to the Kenny era.
"I think it's basically a question of when not if, now. I think we all expect Stephen Kenny to go, if that's when his contract finishes then so be it. If it's over the next couple of days, hours, weeks or whatever it is then it could. But that's up to the FAI," he said.
"I think if you're a manager from the outside looking in and you're interested in the Ireland job, you want to get in the hotseat as soon as possible.
"Because we have three decent enough games coming up, from the outside looking in. I know the Dutch away is a tall order, but there's New Zealand in a friendly after that as well; Greece and Gibraltar (in October), a new manager might be thinking, 'I can shape the team and write off this campaign and start putting my fingerprints on the team'.
"Look, it is hard to say it because Stephen is still in the position and we don't want to be speculating. But I have to be honest, I do think it's a question of when and not if that Stephen will be walking away from the job."
Treacy also feels that Ireland need to starting cutting their cloth tactically according to the types of players available, particularly when factoring in the calibre of opposition.
"We can't control games because we don't have footballers in the middle of the pitch and when we keep the ball, we generally keep it at the back which isn't great for us and when you're passing the ball backwards or sidewards, the other team is shaping their press against you, so you're just essentially playing into a trap," he said.
"If you're playing into a trap that's fine if you know you have a player in midfield you can fizz it into when he can play out.
"We don't have that player. When he's put under pressure, we generally lose it. So I would just say, bypass the midfield, get numbers in, get Alan Browne ringing the edge of the box, get (Chiedozie) Ogbene running at people, try to get (Michael) Obafemi into the team.
"And when (Evan) Ferguson comes back, a lot of people will be tempted to say, 'Can we try to play a bit more football now?' I don't think so.
"I think we need to make the bedrock of our team to be a strong defence, bypass the midfield, try to get Evan Ferguson a chance and try to nick games that way.
"I know people will be shouting 'Mick McCarthy' at me and that I'm a dinosaur but you have to cut your cloth accordingly."
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