Former Ireland defender Damien Delaney feels any complaints about the approach to Euro 2020 qualifying shouldn't be placed at Mick McCarthy's door.
The Boys in Green's recent performances have not been inspiring. But the dour 0-0 draw in Georgia has left Ireland in the knowledge that one win against either of Switzerland or Denmark in the final two qualifiers will be enough to qualify.
Delaney joined us on Off The Ball ahead of Tuesday's match against Switzerland in Geneva, with a home game against Denmark also remaining.
"The position that Mick McCarthy has got the squad into - one win from the last two - is probably exactly where Mick McCarthy wanted to be and saw himself being before it started," he said.
"I don't think anybody in the country has an issue with where we're at in terms of winning one from the last two - I think people have an issue with how we're doing it and the way we're going about it.
"I wouldn't say we really went to win the game against Georgia. He played that as 'don't get beat and if we win it, then fabulous. But we're going to win it with a little bit of luck, a set-piece or a counter-attack'.
Exact Same
"But I think his main was not to lose it. And I think it's going to be the exact same for the next two games. 'Don't lose the game, don't lose the game!' You can't really have a go at Mick McCarthy for that, in my book.
"Because Mick McCarthy's come in and done exactly what he probably told the FAI he was going to do. So I'm very much of the opinion that you can't shoot a leopard for having spots.
"So I don't understand why people are complaining. Mick isn't at fault for this. He interviewed for the job the same way as any job does.
"He's done that, Giovanni Trapattoni has done that, Martin O'Neill did that. Somebody or something in the FAI likes that. They want to do that. So I think if you're going to ask questions about how we're going about this, then Mick isn't at fault for this. It's the FAI because they're choosing this path. Like I said, you can't shoot a leopard for having spots."
You can watch the full chat with Damien Delaney above via our YouTube channel.
