In days gone by, the main event on such a dire night in the Aviva Stadium as Tuesday's defeat to Greece would have been the postmortem from John Giles, Liam Brady, and Eamon Dunphy in the RTÉ studio.
Perhaps it is a testament to how low an ebb Irish football finds itself in that last night saw the first signs of similar anger being replicated by the current players on the RTÉ panel.
However, nobody does it quite like Eamon Dunphy, and the former pundit has already made his feelings clear on the new coaching team for the men's senior team.
Writing in his column in the Irish Mirror, Dunphy made a less-than-flattering comparison between head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson and former British Prime Minister Liz Truss.
READ HERE: Ireland Player Ratings As Greece Pile On The Misery On Wretched Aviva Night
READ HERE: Brian Kerr Had Frank Assessment Of Hallgrimsson Comments After Greek Tragedy In Aviva
Eamon Dunphy makes Liz Truss-Heimir Hallgrímsson comparison
10 September 2024; Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, left, and assistant head coach John O'Shea during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and Greece at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Eamon Dunphy dissected Tuesday's bleak 2-0 home defeat to Greece in the Irish Mirror on Wednesday.
The 79-year-old suggested that the back-to-back defeats to England and the Greeks marked an "all-time low" for the Irish national team.
I’m baffled. I’m frustrated. I’m hurt. And I’m sickened. And I’ll tell you why. At 79 years of age, I have never seen things as bad as they are now. This is an all-time low.
[We are] in a worse state now than we were this time last year. In fact, we are at a worse state now than ever.
Never one to hold back, Dunphy then went on to call for not only Hallgrímsson but also his FAI superiors to be sacked.
Dunphy referenced the infamous incident which saw the Star run a campaign hoping to see a refrigerated lettuce outlast Liz Truss' time in 10 Downing Street. The lettuce did indeed last longer than those 49 days - and Dunphy doesn't see Hallgrímsson doing much better.
There is no point in blaming the players.
We need to blame the administration. And we need to get rid of them. First, though, we need to get rid of the manager.
Trust me when I say this, the lettuce will last longer than the dentist.
Hallgrímsson has a tall order on his hands to pick his players back up and get them motivated for next month's Nations League double-header against Finland and Greece.
Eamon Dunphy may be jumping the gun somewhat by calling for his dismissal after only two games but, judging by the response from fans in the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night, patience may well be running thin.
SEE ALSO: Hallgrímsson Fears Ireland Jersey "A Bit Too Heavy" For Some Players After Greece Defeat
