The Eileen Gleeson era enters its second international window this week as the Republic of Ireland square up to world No 72-ranked Albania.
Gleeson will remain in place for the four remaining games of the UEFA Nations League campaign, with the looming double-header against the group's lowest seed presenting another golden opportunity to rack up wins and goals.
Her final two games at the helm will be December's meetings with Hungary and Northern Ireland. After that, the FAI are expected to name a permanent successor to Vera Pauw; the association is currently whittling down a 12-person list of candidates.
On the pitch, Ireland are enjoying themselves. After the awkward split with Pauw, Gleeson has steadied the ship, with a winnable League B group allowing the Girls in Green to throw off the shackles and play with more freedom.
September victories against the North [3-0] and Hungary [4-0] bred positive vibes. A sold-out Tallaght Stadium will expect more of the same on Friday night against an Albanian side who - although technically decent - really should be swatted aside without too much fuss.
Even a resounding victory wouldn't really move the dial.
Gleeson, the FAI's current head of women and girls' football, is a popular figure in the Irish game, but she remains adamant she's not in the frame to stay on beyond December.
"It's never about not wanting this job," she said on Thursday.
"It’s about the importance of the head of women’s football role. It’s a super, super difficult decision to make or choice to have. But when we’re training and we talk about concepts like supporting closely and supporting away… I’ll still be with the girls and taking care of Irish womens and girls football.
"It has gone well. It’s a real pleasure for me to be working with the girls. They’re a great bunch, really positive, lots of energy and willingness to learn and be open. So I’m having the time of my life."
"We've got Katie McCabe scoring bangers, we’ve got Denise running around training like a mouse. It’s all very positive."
Albania earned a draw against Hungary and only lost 1-0 against Northern Ireland in Belfast. But Ireland are a cut above every other country in League B Group 1, the squad now stacked with players operating in full-time environments and embellished by the outstanding talents of their two best players, Katie McCabe and Denise O'Sullivan.
Ireland should be too fit, strong and clever for them.
"They'll be well organised," added Gleeson. "They appear to have a very clear playing philosophy, they like to play out from the back. And trying to build up.
"They have some really good players specifically the ten and the wide right winger. So they’ve got a lot of opportunity to exploit us if we are not 100%. We’re not expecting anyone to roll over for us.
"The expectation is that we pick up six points but I keep saying that we have to make that happen. They’ll come out and have a go at us and we need to be ready for that."
Gleeson, flanked by O'Sullivan at Thursday's pre-match press conference, has brought a real sense of calm and levity to the camp since taking the reins. The Dubliner's breezy, matter-of-fact approach has been a good fit for a squad that was bruised after the summer's World Cup.
Now it's all about maintaining the good vibes.
"The feedback has been really positive from the previous camp around how the girls played and how the girls performed," she said.
"The discussion around this Nations League is always about the level of the opposition, but we want to be our best selves, and actually the challenge is often greater when you have an expectation on you to maintain your standards.
"That’s the message we’ve been driving into the players. We’ll continue to excite the fans that come out and support us. A sellout stadium here in Tallaght Stadium... we’ve got Katie McCabe scoring bangers, we’ve got Denise running around training like a mouse. It’s all very positive."
It is indeed a sellout tomorrow evening, but a 5.45pm kick-off is likely to result in a lot of ticket-holders failing to make it - a scenario that's cropped up a few times before. A year ago the FAI held a review into why there were empty seats at the crucial World Cup qualifier against Finland, which had officially sold out two months previously.
"It is absolutely brilliant that it is sold out, but we need people to come out and sit in those seats because I can't describe what that support means when you are on the sideline," Gleeson stressed.
"The conversation now is about the Aviva, so we need people to come in here, to prove that there is that fanbase here, that’s it is tangible and we can action it. So, come out supporters, we promise to give you a good performance and come out of these games with six points."
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Watch Republic of Ireland v Albania in UEFA Nations League on Friday from 5.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live radio commentary on 2fm's Game On from 5.40pm
