While not always agreeing with Jack Charlton's style of play and lack of interest in the League of Ireland, Brian Kerr believes that Charlton changed the attitude of Irish society towards football.
In terms of the two international managers that had the most seismic impact on Irish football over the last three decades, the names of Jack Charlton and Brian Kerr are at the top of the list.
After helping to guide Ireland to their first European Championship in 1988 and World Cup campaigns in 1990 and '94, Charlton's cemented a legacy as Ireland's most-beloved Englishman.
In many ways, Brian Kerr's work with Ireland's underage squads is too, as the St. Patrick's Athletic icon helped to shape and create the careers of Damien Duff, Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne, John O'Shea, and more.
After finishing third in the 1997 World Youth Championships and winning both the under-16 and under-18 European Championships a year later, Kerr's managerial career had to build on Charlton's legacy.
Brian Kerr on Jack Charlton
Speaking with Off The Ball, Kerr said that Charlton's impact on the landscape of Irish football was immeasurable, especially in terms of making soccer socially-acceptable in areas where it wasn't that popular before.
"Jack was there to win matches and get results with the senior team, he was brilliant at that. What it did do was it meant that people all over the country now followed football and were prepared to get involved," said Kerr.
"What emerged from that was there were huge numbers of new teams set up - junior teams and schoolboy football at all levels of the game - right around the country.
"This meant higher participation levels because young players were inspired to get involved and play. They saw Ireland doing well on the TV and they later became the players that were part of the successful teams that I happened to manage as a youth team manager with Ireland.
"Lots of those players would have been inspired by Jack's teams," said Kerr.
Of course, the Dubliner would also be given the biggest job in Irish football when he replaced Mick McCarthy and while Kerr is grateful for the impact that Charlton had, he also feels that certain elements were overlooked too.
"I've a mixed view of the period. I enjoyed the stories, I enjoyed the craic, I enjoyed the fun, I enjoyed the success, I enjoyed the matches, but not the style of football.
"Also, I was a frustrated League of Ireland manager that would have liked the national manager to take some interest in what we were doing.
"Also, I'd have liked Jack to take some responsibility for the development of the game but that wasn't in Jack's job description.
"His job description was to win matches, he did that and the whole country enjoyed that. His legacy and impact will be there forever," said Kerr.
Popularity
While soccer was always played in Ireland, Kerr believes that the Euro '88 campaign and Italia '90 helped to spread the popularity of the sport to rural areas.
"I was used to driving around the country and not seeing a football pitch. If there was one, it would have been well out of the way. What happened after Jack's time, it became very acceptable and popular to have a football pitch in areas where GAA is only played to any serious level.
"It became accepted to have football teams all over the country, even in remote parts of Ireland and small villages. That was a great impact for the game and it gave a new stock of players for our competitive teams to dip into.
"I played football and hurling matches at Croke Park for my school at a decent level, I never played a soccer match for my school because no soccer was allowed.
"I finished school in 1970 and soccer wasn't allowed. The ban was lifted and things started to change. The Euro '88 campaign in Germany was the biggest change in Irish society towards the idea that it was acceptable to play soccer in Ireland."
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