Back in July of last year, then Shelbourne manager Damien Duff was sitting in front of the assembled press ahead of his side's eagerly-anticipated Conference League clash against Gibraltar side St Joseph's.
Having helped Shels return to the European stage for the first time in almost two decades Duff was fielding questions, which eventually turned to the FAI, the Irish national team and their lengthy search for a new manager.
Very shortly after Heimir Hallgrimsson would be appointed as Stephen Kenny’s permanent successor but when Duff was asked if Irish football required a reset, he was unequivocal in his response.
"I would raze Abbotstown to the ground because it’s the most uninviting, unenthusiastic workplace, not just in world football but in the world."
Duff subsequently apologised for his comments about the FAI, although the mea culpa was more for a line about 'sacking 90% of the workforce’.
Just over a year on and Duff is one of the favourites to become the next Republic of Ireland manager, after Hallgrimsson’s side suffered a disastrous and seemingly irrevocable World Cup qualifying defeat to Armenia.
A curious appointment from the off, the FAI’s unveiling of Hallgrimsson caught almost everyone off guard, with most expecting the organisation to confirm that John O’Shea would be moving from a caretaker role to the permanent one.
How the FAI’s eight-month search for a manager eventually ended with Hallgrimsson remains unclear but having been rejected by the likes of Lee Carsley and Gus Poyet in that time, there was the sense of ‘you’ll do’ when the former Iceland and Jamaica boss was appointed.
Ireland fans greeted his arrival with cautious optimism and were willing to forgive early defeats to England and Greece, in the hope of improvement to come. However in his 12 games in charge, Hallgrimson has only been able to muster victories against Bulgaria and Finland and the lows easily outmatched the highs.
Tuesday night’s defeat in Yerevan was as grim as it gets.
There was a real sense of optimism at the start of the week. A sold-out Aviva Stadium awaited Ireland and both the squad and the manager had talked up the mood within the camp with captain Nathan Collins insisting that "something's brewing within the squad".
It took 15 minutes for that bubble to burst against Hungary. A hapless display in the first half saw Ireland trail by two goals at the break and having been handed a way back into the game thanks to Roland Sallai’s red card, they eventually managed to claim a draw.
Tactically though, things were a mess. Time and again Hungary played through a non-existent midfield on the break and every time Ireland lost the ball in attack, it opened up the door for the visitors.
With no real coordination between the midfield and attack when out of possession, some players went to press, others stayed static and left wide open gaps for the Hungarians. That theme continued in Armenia.
The dramatic end to the Hungary game raised hopes again, while Armenia’s recent record and status led to the not unreasonable expectation that Ireland would end their first series of World Cup qualifiers with four points from six.
This was a team that has, since last October, lost to the Faroe Islands, lost to North Macedonia, lost to Kosovo and shipped nine goals to Georgia across two games.
Hallgrimsson's side made Armenia look like world beaters and were fortunate to only lose by a goal.
Ireland started on the front foot and showed intent in the opening 20 minutes but seemed to retreat into themselves once the early breakthrough didn’t arrive. With 10 minutes to go in the first half, it was clear that Armenia were growing in confidence as they sensed the visitors were there for the taking.
So it proved.
As against Hungary, a non-existent Ireland midfield served as a welcome mat to Armenia on the counter and far too often, a simple long ball out from defence would see the hosts through on goal.
Both Armenia and the game bypassed Josh Cullen and Jason Knight and as the match wore on, it became increasingly difficult to work out just how Hallgrimsson was trying to get his side to play.
Just as it did against Hungary, the game descended into a hit and hope affair, with Ireland pumping the ball into the box at every opportunity, hoping for something to break their way. There’s times when that approach is warranted, but when it's your only really attacking threat, that's a problem.
Long throws into the box became Ireland’s most regular form of attack and with the Armenian defence dealing with everything that was literally being thrown their way, Ireland’s players visibly lost confidence and belief.
Not every issue can be laid at the manager’s door, but when the best you can offer against Armenia is a half-hearted tribute to Tony Pullis’ Stoke, fingers are going to be pointed his way.
Ireland's problems, of course, go deeper than the manager and the rot has started from the ground up. The lack of investment into the game in Ireland is a drum that has widely banged for years with little sign of change.
The recent report into the League of Ireland academy system showed just how it's lagging behind lower-ranked nations in the most basic terms of staffing and contact hours. Pennies and pats on the head are being thrown at the game at the most crucial level in Ireland and domestic clubs are feeding off scraps when trying to mould the next generation of players.
It's a situation that has dragged on for decades now, but one that's being brought into sharper focus after Brexit turned off the tap of promising Irish teenagers being sent to English club academies to develop.
The FAI remains deeply in debt and increasingly focused on cost-cutting. They recently revealed their intent to reduce their current staff count of 230 by between 20% and 30% at a time when they should be investing in staff and facilities.
The development of our players now seems to be based on League of Ireland clubs getting into Europe, earning a few million and hoping that they'll put that back into their youth squads. Shamrock Rovers have led the way in this regard over the last few years, but Irish football can not be so reliant on UEFA prizemoney for it's long term future.
For the short term, it difficult to see what exactly Hallgrimsson is trying to get from his players, what he's asking them to do on the pitch. Past Ireland managers may have been looking for too much from their squad, but you could at least see what they were trying to do.
Martin O’Neill wanted to and succeeded in making Ireland hard to beat. It wasn’t always pretty but his defence first, counter-attacking approach that heavily relied on set-pieces got results and brought Ireland to Euro 2016.
Stephen Kenny went for a more possession-based approach which eventually cost him his job. There were always doubts as to whether Kenny had the squad to successfully play the kind of football he wanted to at international level, but at least it was clear what he was asking of his players.
For Hallgrimsson, there’s no such clarity. In the two games against Hungary and Armenia, he seemed willing to concede the middle of the pitch in order to force the play out wide and deliver a seemingly endless stream of crosses and long throws into the opposition penalty area.
All well and good in theory but when your main target man is Evan Ferguson, a player whose game just isn’t suited to that approach, then it becomes aimless and far too simple to defend against.
The introduction of Adam Idah as a more traditional target-man yielded success against Hungary but by the time he was sent on against a buoyant Armenian team with a full complement of players, Ireland already looked beaten.
It’s Portugal up next for Ireland and if they travel to Lisbon with the same approach, they will be in for a painfully long evening.
With Hallgrimsson’s contract only taking in this qualifying campaign, the Ireland manager needs to pull something very special out of the bag in October’s double header against the Portuguese and Armenia or Duff might be offered an unexpected return to Abbotstown.
He could even bring his sledgehammer.
Watch the Sports Direct FAI Cup quarter-finals with RTÉ Sport. Drogheda United v Shamrock Rovers on Friday from 7pm and St Patrick's Athletic v Galway United on Sunday from 5.30pm. Both matches on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
