"I'd be concerned about the lack of quality in the middle of the pitch," Brian Kerr told Virgin Media Sport following Thursday night's 1-1 Euro 2020 qualifier draw between Ireland and Switzerland.
"There was a lot of honesty and graft with Hourihane and Whelan in there and Hendrick to a degree, but not an awful lot of very good football. They were outplayed and the ball was knocked around.
"In fairness to Mick, he saw that and he changed the emphasis a bit. We started with a 4-3-3 with McClean and Robinson advanced to support McGoldrick.
"He had to adjust it and go to a five in the second half to block up the avenues and the angles for passes that Switzerland were finding so easy. They still made numerous chances but the introduction of the substitutes, Judge in particular, made the difference."
The former Ireland manager believes Mich McCarthy's side does have a chance of qualifying for the tournament, mainly due to the 24 qualification places available.
"Where the backstop is on this one is that we can still get a playoff place from the Nations League," said Kerr.
"We have a failsafe; not because we did well in that [competition] but the structure of the competition means there's nearly a place for everyone in the audience."
So, how are Ireland looking now?
Niall Quinn & Brian Kerr have their say.#COYBIG #VMSport pic.twitter.com/hI61r1XA4I— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) September 5, 2019
