Former Ireland captain Cunningham makes case for Conor Coventry call-up to senior side

“We need to get better at what we are doing,” observed Stephen Kenny as each word he uttered on Saturday night, following the 1-0 defeat to lowly Armenia, sounded like a gross understatement.

Former Ireland captain Kenny Cunningham made a prescient observation in these pages last Saturday about the way Kenny sets up the now embedded 3-4-2-1 system. The formation works because of a defensive solidity created by three centre halves and two holding midfielders minding the fort.

If operated correctly, the tactics employed by Armenia manager Joaquín Caparrós to hoodwink Kenny and his strategists for a famous 1-0 victory –which instantly joins the list of miserable Republic of Ireland results, from Luxembourg to Cyprus to Macedonia and high up that mountain in Liechtenstein – could and should have been contained.

Two holding midfielders are supposed to sacrifice any inclination to roam. Think of English duo Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips at last summer’s Euros resisting a constant temptation to show the world what they could do going forward with the ball.

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“Josh Cullen is not quick, he’s not Roy [Keane], but he does so much,” said Cunningham. “Intercepting, tiger-ish tackles, getting across the midfield, getting the team going, getting possession and moving it while always staying behind the ball, so it would be nice to see another player with a similar mindset in there beside him.

“Someone like Conor Coventry would give me a lot more confidence in the wing backs and front three.”

[ Ireland’s Nation League misery continues as Armenia edge to victory ]

[ Stephen Kenny stresses need for ‘important performances’ as Ireland bid to bounce back against Ukraine ]

Coventry currently captains an Ireland under-21s team on the cusp of reaching their first major tournament, so it is unlikely that Kenny will promote the MK Dons midfielder, but the point was never more obvious on Saturday night as panic sprayed across the Irish defence every time wing backs Enda Stevens and Séamus Coleman lost possession over halfway.

“Coventry has that defensive mindset, and we don’t have too many like him in Ireland, Josh Cullen being the only one you can trust to stay behind the ball and read the danger,” Cunningham said. “Jeff Hendrick likes to get ahead of the ball, because that’s his strength, but when he is higher up the pitch and it breaks down there is a big space either side of Josh.

“The 21s matches probably go against Coventry being called up to senior, as he is captain and needed there right now, but he is a very good, under-the-radar player and like Cullen he just gets on the ball and keeps it moving.

“Most importantly you can trust him off the ball.”

Cullen did not exactly echo Cunningham’s view but following this nightmarish back-pedalling exercise against minnows, he refused to mince his words.

“We had prepared for Armenia to play 4-4-2 but seeing their team sheet it was clear they’d go 5-4-1, sit in and try frustrate us,” said the Anderlecht midfielder. “They wanted to catch us on the counterattack.

“We didn’t deal with that well enough in possession or out of possession.

“We’ve to make sure it’s not a setback from the positive strides we’ve made and that we go out in front of a full Aviva on Wednesday to get a positive result against Ukraine.

“We’ve to make sure we’re ready to go, physically and mentally.”

And, more importantly, tactically.

Chiedozie Ogbene provided a typically honest assessment of a defeat that will follow this Irish team around forever.

“We just have to be ruthless,” said Ogbene, “it’s a results-based business, we experienced it in the hardest way and we need to change our mentality, to win at all costs”.

That’s the corner Kenny’s Ireland have backed themselves into. Win at all cost.