Ireland would be better served by bringing in a new manager before the end of the current Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, if they plan to replace Stephen Kenny anyway.
That was the view of Paul Corry as he spoke on RTÉ's Game On.
Kenny's immediate future was clarified this afternoon as FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill confirmed that the Dubliner will be involved for the next four games this year; three qualifiers and a friendly against New Zealand.
A review will then take place, with Hill telling RTÉ Sport that "results are a major part of that review process", which has been interpreted as a stark message for Kenny, whose Ireland team have lost four of their five qualifiers so far, leaving them out of the running for a top-two finish in Group B.
For Corry, it was clear that the FAI has not begun negotiations with a potential successor to the former Longford Town and Dunfermline manager.
"I wouldn't have been surprised if they were putting out feelers ahead of the France and Holland game about who might be interested, should Stephen's contract not be renewed," he said.
"Imagine they won the next three games, would that change their mind? I don't know. I felt after the Netherlands game that there was an element of acceptance amongst the wider public, and people who've backed Kenny for a long time, that maybe this just hasn't worked out.
"My feeling, off the snippets that we heard from Jonathan Hill today, is that maybe they haven't been actively searching for a new manager.
"It feels now that they're almost reacting to the two results, and particularly the performances, to say that now is the time to look for his successor.
"They're going to give him the three games. I'm not sure what benefit that has. It somewhat feels like they're kicking the can down the road and maybe it is better to have a clean break and rejuvenate the squad.
"I thought they looked very flat, particularly in the last half an hour against the Netherlands. The body language wasn't great after the game as well and they seemed low.
"We look like a team that are easy to beat. We seem to lose games when we seem to be in games, and that's not a good sign either.
"There's a justification there for changing things. I'm not saying that Stephen should lose his job overnight, but there's a number of people who would say it has run its course and it needs to be freshened up.
"Because after this campaign, we'll be heading into another campaign and we don't want to say that we need to give the new manager four or five games before we start things over again.
"I don't think financially they're in a position to sack Stephen. We're still without a main sponsor. We know the troubles that we've had as a result of the John Delaney era.
"The association is not flush with cash and maybe they just don't feel they're in a position to change things. Expect changes is what a lot of people will be saying off the back of this campaign.
"Who that will be we don't know. I still don't think it will be Stephen based on the conversations today. There didn't seem to be a huge amount of reassurances that he was going to keep the job.
"I would not be against a fresh set of eyes ahead of this Greece game and just trying to get a bit of positivity and energy back into the camp."
