After losing his first home game in charge of the Republic of Ireland senior side to Finland, Stephen Kenny has said that he'll learn from the last two Nations League games against Bulgaria and Ireland.
Slovakia.
They're on the mind of every single Irish player and supporter as the crucial Euro 2020 play-off draws closer.
Even before a ball was kicked in the most recent Nations League matches, it was the play-off that dominated the discussion and if Ireland do win in Bratislava, will anyone care about the last two results?
However, the Nations League qualifiers against Bulgaria and Finland gave Stephen Kenny his first chance to look at the Ireland squad. Meanwhile, fans were eagerly looking at Kenny's first decisions as manager.
After Shane Duffy's late header in Sofia salvaged a point, Ireland were expected to be more attacking, more fluid, and more threatening against the Finns at the Aviva Stadium.
It didn't happy as the visitors picked up a deserved win.
Yes, there were glimpses of promise with Jayson Molumby looking assured on his debut, Adam Idah and Aaron Connolly showing more promise at international level, and Robbie Brady putting his hand up for selection in the starting XI against the Slovaks, but there are still some big questions to be answered.
Granted, players haven't started their club season yet and there's an element of rustiness, but over the two games, Ireland's back-four looked far from assured - Darren Randolph making a string of fine saves against the Finns.
Aside from this, Ireland had some decent chances but still look like their best chance of scoring a goal is from a set-piece.
Stephen Kenny
Speaking with Sky Sports after the match, Kenny said that he's not distraught with the results from the last two games because he's viewing them as a learning experience for the Slovakia play-off.
"Listen, we used these games as preparation. Of course, we wanted to win them, it's our first game at home. For us, there's a bigger picture and that's Slovakia. We were a bit experimental in the games, I think that's evident. We want players to really put their hands up to be in contention for the Slovakia game. We need to increase our attacking options for the game against Slovakia. We wanted to do that and some players did quite well and that gives us real food for thought for the game next month," he said.
Kenny also identified a lack of cutting edge as a big problem that Ireland need to address before they travel to Slovakia.
"We were sort of on top of the game when we conceded. After that, Finland had a better spell and we rallied and we probably had 4-5 chances today. When you get them, you've got to take them. It's as simple as that," said Kenny.
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