Former Dundalk manager Vinny Perth joined Off The Ball to discuss where Ireland can get better, after a 1-0 defeat to Finland in Helsinki.
Ireland showed a lot of positive attributes in the narrow loss, with a series of chances created - if not scored. But it is at number ten that Perth believes Ireland can get a little more incisive.
Ireland improvements
Jeff Hendrick has been operating just behind the main striker for his country, and Perth believes that the emergence of a 'top-class' number ten would hugely benefit the side.
"It is a balancing act," Perth said of the job of the modern number ten.
"You are caught with a number ten, in modern-day football, that really needs to cover a large amount of distance but he has got to open doors. He did it once or twice, and other times it broke down.
"Tonight, [Ireland] played more or less a 4-4-2, so there was a lot more space for him in that number ten position. But it is not a true reflection.
"When there was a lot of space for him, a real top-class number ten would have created a lot more chances and would make us a bettter team.
"There were huge positives [...] but we are missing that x-factor, that sprinkling of real quality - and I would say it is probably missing in the number ten position."
Aaron Connolly
Perth also gave an insight into Aaron Connolly that he is maturing as a player and a human.
"A lot of coaches at under-age level in the international setup would not have said he was the easiest to manage.
"But he has started to show a lot more maturity over the last while. He may have been 'selfish', but he was selfless in the front-three press.
"He has been really positive tonight in his performance, maybe he should hit the target with one chance or at least made the keeper work. But he has been one of the real positives.
"You can hear real frustration in his voice - and that is probably the key words to come out of the camp over the last little while - frustration."
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