Scotland's approach under Steve Clarke would be a suitable template for the next Republic of Ireland management team to follow, according to Keith Treacy and Graham Gartland.
The FAI has yet to make an announcement regarding who will succeed Stephen Kenny as Boys in Green boss, although England under-21 head coach Lee Carsley remains the firm favourite for the role.
One thing that is clear is the fixture list for the year with friendlies against Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary and Portugal before tackling a difficult UEFA Nations League group featuring England, Finland and Greece in the autumn.
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, Treacy said he expected fellow former Ireland midfielder Carsley to get the job once contract details are hammered out and per feedback received from those of the same generation as the former Evertonian, it appears he is very much interested in the vacancy.
But beyond the identity of the next manager, Treacy and former Drogheda United captain Gartland believe the style of play and tactical approach is the most important aspect for the future after the expansive shift under Kenny failed to garner the desired results.
The duo feel a degree of pragmatism is required and pointed to how Scotland have thrived under Clarke, with the Tartan Army having qualified for Euro 2024 with aplomb.
"When Steve Clarke went in at Kilmarnock and made them really pragmatic, they were excellent but they were so hard to beat and they didn't mind that and he realised what he had," former Dundee United and St Johnstone defender Gartland said.
"He went to Scotland and he did the same for the first year. I remember a lot of people giving out that it's not great on the eye and eventually he started building them up where their confidence got higher and then they were able to play off the back of knowing that, 'Well, we know we're alright back here (defensively) so we can express ourselves a bit more further up the pitch because we're keeping clean sheets.'
"And then it became a very energetic camp, the morale was high in the camp, the boys were looking forward to going to camp and then they just started pulling out these results.
"And some of them are backs against the wall. They went to Spain and let Spain have the ball but nicked goals or beat Spain at Hampden on the counter-attack and then they went and beat the teams around them.
"For us to go to that next level, it is beating the likes of Greece and Finland and doing it by whatever means necessary and then growing the confidence and building that up to take into qualifiers in the following year.
"And I think the earlier we can get Lee Carsley in and he can see which way he wants to do it, the better it will be for the FAI going forward."
Treacy agreed with Gartland's points and added that while the Scottish team on paper has more quality than Ireland's player-for-player, none of their key players' games are based on individual flair.
"It's how they press as a team, it's how they go about it as a team and they make it horrible, Hampden is hopping," he said.
"I think we should model ourselves on the Scottish. Because I've heard Steve Clarke in interviews after games, saying, 'We're Scotland and we're going to go about it how we go about it'.
"They're not trying to do the model of Man City, they're not trying to be Spain. They're Scotland."
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