Heimir Hallgrimsson deserves massive praise for what he has achieved with Ireland over the last week, according to former international Shay Given.
The Boys in Green kept their World Cup qualification hopes alive in an astonishing manner in Budapest as Troy Parrott completed a hat-trick in the dying seconds to break Hungarian hearts.
Like Robbie Keane in Ibaraki, John O'Shea in Gelsenkirchen and Robbie Brady in Lille, Parrott has scored a late goal, away from home, that will be remembered for years to come.
But for Hallgrimsson, whose future was in doubt before this international window, the six points picked up against Portugal and Hungary are a justification for his approach to setting up the team.
Just 68 days separated the nadir of another defeat to Armenia in Yerevan and yesterday's heroics at the Puskas Arena but Given thinks the Icelander's level-headedness was a key factor in the turnaround.
"He's been very calm through the whole thing, while we're all getting high and we're getting low," he said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"He's managed to keep this sort of calm. Even after the game at the weekend, I was going through the bleeding... jumping off the sofa, up the sofa, down the sofa.
"Then in his interview after he just kept it so calm and that's a trait, and that's a quality in itself. When you're a manager at an international level - at any level, actually - to be that calm after such a monumental result, he's done a phenomenal job.
"After that Armenia game, we all doubted him, 'is he the right man, should someone else be in charge, you know' - the usual stuff - but he deserves great credit."
Ireland still need two wins to make it to next summer's tournament which will be followed by the build up to Euro 2028, a competition which the country is helping to host.
It's an enticing prospect for any manager, should the Boys in Green qualify.
For Given, there's a sense of the team having turned a corner since Thursday with the hope that they can carry the momentum into March's decisive play-off period.
"it just brings you back down to so many years, both as a player, but as a fan," he added.
"Even before I played in the Jack Charlton era, you know, the good days."
Listen to Shay Given's full interview from Morning Ireland below
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