Kenny Cunningham believes the much maligned long ball tactics could be best suited to bringing out the best in the Republic of Ireland.
Manager Martin O’Neill came in for criticism from some quarters because of the tactics used in the 2-2 draw with Serbia.
The Ireland boss hit back at his critics in the wake of the game saying: “You’re playing away from home against Serbia it’s very difficult, these boys play in big, big leagues.”
“You can’t be expecting to control a game away from home for 90 minutes against Serbia, that’s lunacy.”
The performance is unlikely to inspire confidence in even the most positive of Republic of Ireland fans.
But former skipper Cunningham feels that this group of players will improve as the qualification campaign goes on:
Cunningham believes Dundalk can cause even more upsets as they embark on their Europa League odyssey.
They dumped BATE Borisov out of the Champions League before exiting at the hands of Legia Warsaw.
The former Ireland skipper feels other clubs in the League of Ireland can emulate Dundalk’s success in Europe.
The Champions did not spend big to gain European success, Cunningham feels that makes it achievable for others:
Kenny Cunningham was speaking at the launch of eir Sport's European Football coverage. eir Sport will broadcast all six of Dundalk's Europa League group games on a free to view basis.
The eir Sport pack is the only place to view the rest of the Europa League action including all of Manchester United's games as well as every Champions League game.
