"We probably need a miracle to qualify," admitted Heimir Hallgrimsson, following Ireland's humiliating 2-1 defeat to Armenia.
The national team manager has had difficult days in the job since taking over just over a year ago, however, he has always appeared to maintain a sunny disposition, speaking of the bigger picture with confidence and about making it to next year’s tournament.
Even Saturday night’s horror start to the campaign, going 2-0 down to Hungary within the opening 15 minutes, was turned on its head by emphasising the growing spirit of the squad and their battling qualities to earn an unlikely point.
The cross-continent trip to face a side beaten 5-0 on Saturday was meant to kick-start the campaign, claim three points away from home and head into the October games with renewed intent.
And it looked like Ireland were ready to do a professional job on Armenia as they tested the keeper inside the opening 60 seconds and then saw another cleared off the line minutes later.
Armenia looked every ounce of their 105th world ranking, error-strewn and incompetent for the opening exchanges, with a goalkeeper who looked set to gift Ireland opportunities with every touch of the ball on a shocking surface.
Even when Armenia finally got up the field after 15 minutes, Ireland looked organised and impenetrable, falling back into formation and closing every avenue for the home side.
But then, the next Ireland foray forward broke down and, as predicted before the game, Armenia proved dangerous in transition, and suddenly they exposed that lack of confidence and trust throughout the visitors’ defensive unit.
Lucas Zelarayan’s stinging, and swerving, long-range effort emphasised the point in the 18th minute as Armenia remained in the ascendancy.
Ireland had pressed well in those opening exchanges, but now they could not break down the home side’s play, and relied on Armenian mistakes to get the ball back.
And yet, no need to really panic, as it seemed that Hallgrimsson’s side would surely work an opportunity and gradually start to dominate once more.
Jack Taylor and Nathan Collins both had chances, while several long throws were launched into the box, but the composure was lacking, while the formation forced everything down the right channel, hoping the Chiedozie Ogbene’s pace would cause issues.
And then in the 35th minute, one long, hopeful ball over the top was enough to shake the foundations of an already shaky unit, as Dara O’Shea fell over, allowing the home side to enjoy a couple of cracks at goal.
Nathan Collins blocked well for the first, the crossbar saving Ireland at the second attempt, and from then on, Armenia, and their decibel-building supporters sensed that they were very much in the contest.
More than that, it would transpire, as they controlled things from that point on, first with the converted spot-kick and then playing through the permeable back-four to double the lead early in the second half.
Ireland hit back, and with plenty of time of the clock, the scene was set for another marauding display to, first, restore parity, before, going on to grab a winner and return home with their hopes intact.
But as it turned out, the Evan Ferguson goal proved a mere consolation, as it was the home side who continued to rip Ireland apart, and if it wasn’t for the goalkeeping heroics of Caoimhín Kelleher, again, Hallgrimsson’s side could have been beaten by three or more.
Hallgrimsson, to his credit, attempted to take it on the chin after the game, admitting that it was difficult to be optimistic after a game where almost everything went wrong, the players lost their duels and made too many mistakes.
"Of course, that's the job of the coach," he said, when asked about his own position set to come under increased scrutiny.
"If they're not producing then of course it's always under question, and it's understandable now. I'm not naïve. After this performance, of course I will take the blame for this.
"We need to focus on what we do for the next camp," he added, which suggested that he was not about to fall on his sword at this early juncture of the campaign.
As luck would have it, Hungary were beaten by Portugal at home in the group’s other game, which remarkably leaves Armenia in the play-off place after the first round of games.
So perhaps Hallgrimsson can cling to the very dim spot of light lingering at the end of the tunnel, thanks to Portugal’s late 3-2 victory in Budapest.
Ireland will now have to hope that Portugal secure maximum points against Armenia and Hungary, while they somehow bounce back and work towards securing second spot and a place in the play-offs.
But to be even thinking along those lines following such a collapse in Yerevan appears somewhat inappropriate, as Ireland really need to take their medicine and reflect on what went wrong throughout tonight’s 90 minutes.
No doubt, the manager’s position will be debated over the next couple of weeks both in the media and within the FAI, as the decisionmakers try to make sense of the team’s current status.
The fact that the next squad announcement will take place in three weeks’ time suggests that it would be foolhardy to attempt to enforce a regime change when the mathematics are still in play, but things should certainly be a lot clearer by the end of the next round of matches.
Next up for Ireland is a daunting trip to Lisbon to face the group leaders who sit clear on six points from two games.
There will have to be a lot of soul searching from both the manager and his squad before they reconvene for the October games, and Hallgrimsson is going to have to make some big decisions regarding who he can trust to lead this team throughout the remainder of the campaign.
The manager said that the squad was still trying to define its character following the first game against Hungary, but as the international window draws to a close, it is more pertinent to suggest that this entire Hallgrimsson era has started to suffer an identity crisis.
