Should tonight's Euro 2024 qualifier in Amsterdam prove to be Stephen Kenny’s last competitive match in charge of the national team, the manager looks set to go out all guns blazing.
Kenny walked into the job with a bold and brave template to transform Irish football from the top down, and three years in, the man is not for turning – he will leave by the front door, if push comes to shove.
The manager put out his boldest and bravest selection and employed the highest-tempo tactics of his tenure in the home clash against the Netherlands in Dublin, and while eventually out-manoeuvred by a Dutch master in the second half, he looks set to roll the dice once again.
Not long into the role and when results did not immediately appear to be forthcoming, the voices from the outside – and as it would appear, from the inside – were calling for a change of tack; a return to the defence-minded approach of virtually all who sailed before him in the modern Jack Charlton era of Irish football.
Kenny was convinced, however, that things would turn and kept adapting while evolving, resulting in some incredible performances, but yet the results would not arrive.
In football, they say that luck evens itself out over the season, so now three years in, it must be accepted that the position that the national team currently sits in is the correct one in terms of ranking.
Yet Kenny maintains his quest for that elusive golden fleece of a result, and should this be his last chance to get that "famous away win", he is going to give it his best shot.
Granted, it would prove a very ballsy move by Kenny to replicate that front-foot approach from the first minute against a side with the quality of the Dutch, who will probably offer Ireland a touch more respect from the beginning of this game after the fright they got at the Aviva Stadium.
But Kenny will surely send the team out with attacking intentions at the very least, possibly packing the midfield a bit more to make less space for that aggressive running from deep that caught his side out in the Dublin defeat.
Of course, the option remains to park the bus for the first 70-odd minutes allowing time to launch a late attack for a snatch and grab victory, but that is just not Kenny’s style; he would rather go out on his sword.
"It's not that I don't have the capacity to learn from mistakes or from games, of course you do," said Kenny, when asked what he would change in his approach to get a result in Amsterdam.
"Obviously, we've not played Holland in Amsterdam, I risk repeating myself but games against teams of that calibre have been on the fine margins.
"We've not been far away; we have to just get better at what we do and improve aspects of how we play and continue to improve.
"Every game is different. But generally, I think we're on the right track in a lot of games and played very well in a lot of those games, but we have to turn those draws into victories and defeats into draws."
It is clear that Kenny still believes that the approach he is taking is the right one, and one that is best for the long-term health of Irish football on the international stage, and while he is still keen to stay in the job, he has also stated this week that he is not about to beg for his future.
Remarkably, there has still to be any form of dissent coming from the players who have worked with the manager, and the fact that Kenny has not been informed of his future suggests that someone in the FAI decision-making circles may still be beating his drum.
That decision will come soon enough, however.
Saturday’s game should certainly move the dialogue to a natural conclusion. A draw or a famous away win could change the conversation. Outclassed and out-thought and Kenny will most likely be out the door.
Despite the impressive tactics and having the personnel to carry them out in that first half at Lansdowne Road, Kenny was undone by experienced Ronald Koeman who made the requisite changes at half-time, leading to the vital away win.
The hard-working Ireland manager will, no doubt, have a counterplan in place come kick-off time tonight as he continues to work those expressionist brush strokes on his masterpiece, that may not be fully appreciated until some time in the future when the three-year foundations have been built upon.
Not the greatest start to the week for the manager who was presented with a quartet of potential injuries as the squad gathered.
Evan Ferguson and Chiedozie Ogbene were two of the four, and it's a case of one in, one out as the former should start, while the latter has been ruled out.
Will Smallbone always appeared to be struggling, while Jamie McGrath alerted the media on Wednesday that he was fairly confident that he would be fine to be involved.
Festy Ebosele, however, was not on the initial list and aggravated an injury during the week as he returned to his club and will miss out.
Of the XI that started the game in Dublin, only John Egan and Ogbene are unavailable through injury, while Liam Scales has stepped seamlessly into the central defensive position.
But there will be other changes as James McClean is unlikely to start, having only returned as cover for the missing duo, with Ryan Manning set to be selected on the left side of defence.
Kenny may well revert to a four-man defence to allow for more midfield cover, which could see Shane Duffy and Matt Doherty make up the back four with Scales and Manning.
That would leave plenty of room for attack-minded personnel in the midfield and front line with Josh Cullen, Alan Browne, Jason Knight and Jamie McGrath all in contention, allowing for Ferguson and Adam Idah to lead the line in Ogbene's absence.
As mentioned, the Dutch boss won the battle of the bench in the last game with the Ireland substitutes failing to drag the side back into the contest, however, Kenny will be hoping that he has a couple of tricks up his sleeve in that department, with the jinking Mikey Johnston capable of lighting up any occasion, while unknown quantity Andy Moran could certainly make a timely introduction onto the big stage.
Watch the Netherlands v Republic of Ireland on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player this Saturday from 7pm, follow a live blog on www.rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to commentary on RTÉ 2fm.
