After last night's 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Dutch, it seems that Stephen Kenny is hanging on by a thread in his position as Ireland manager.
The performance against the Netherlands in the Aviva Stadium wasn't all that bad, with the home side actually being very impressive in the opening half hour or so. However, the way in which the game petered out after they fell behind in the second half was worrying. In the end, the fans just seemed resigned to this being yet another disappointing defeat.
Getting something out of games against the French and Dutch this month was always going to be a difficult task, but it was the lack of progress in the campaign up to this point that led to mounting pressure on the manager.
Many feel like now is the right time for Stephen Kenny to move on, although others feel he has been treated rather unfairly.
Eamon Dunphy far from impressed with criticism of Stephen Kenny
Despite being an outspoken critic of numerous Ireland managers in the past, Eamon Dunphy been steadfast in his support of Stephen Kenny over the last three years.
He has praised him for blooding young players and changing the team's playing style, having previously hammered the likes of Giovanni Trapattoni and Martin O'Neill for their tactical approach while in charge.
Now that the goodwill around Kenny is starting to dissipate somewhat, the former RTÉ pundit is clearly unhappy with some of what has been said in the press in recent times.
Writing in the Irish Daily Star, Dunphy hammered the media for the 'vicious' criticism that has been directed at the Ireland boss.
Some of the criticism he has received has been vicious. I don’t think the media wanted to know what his job was.
I'll let them in on the secret. His job was to save Irish football after the O’Neill and Trapattoni experience...
If Stephen is to lose his job, it will be a very sad day for Irish football.
For the cynics in the media, and the three heroes who were working as pundits on RTE last night, there was a lack of sympathy.
When you look at all the injuries Kenny has had, he deserves to be looked upon in a favourable light. He deserves more time, in my view.
But the writing appears to be on the wall. The job will go soon and the cynics can have a party.
What are they celebrating, though? The passing of a good man.
It is probably not accurate to say that the media have been unfair in their appraisal of Stephen Kenny, with the majority of those in the Irish press core buying into what he has been trying to do with this Irish team.
Unfortunately, only so much patience can be shown when the team repeatedly comes up short, especially against teams of a similar or lesser quality such as Greece, Armenia, and Luxembourg.
At the end of the day, the results have to count at some point.
SEE ALSO: After The End Of The Culture War, It Could Be Indifference That Finishes Off Stephen Kenny
