Preview: Big Ireland win required on road to recovery after Greek nightmare

The Republic of Ireland will begin to undo the damage of Friday night's defeat as they welcome Gibraltar to the Aviva Stadium for tonight’s Euro 2024 qualifier.

But in truth, even a comprehensive victory over the group’s lowest seeds will do little to erase the engrained memories of an awful away day in Athens.

The hurt of that defeat to Gus Poyet’s side and the manner of the performance will linger a lot longer throughout the summer months ahead of the resumption of the campaign.

What waits for Stephen Kenny’s side in September is a double-header from hell, as Ireland travel to Paris to take on World Cup finalists, France, before a home clash against the group’s top seeds, the Netherlands, three days later.

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Stephen Kenny said he expects to remain in charge of Ireland for the remainder of their Euro 2024 campaign

Any confidence that came from a decent showing in the group opener against France, combined with the extended team-building Antalya adventure was extinguished in the Greek capital, and there is very little that the manager can do between now and September to restore it ahead of that daunting double-header.

To be fair to the Ireland boss, he made no excuses after the defeat, and he has come out fighting ahead of the Gibraltar game, attempting to project real positivity ahead of tonight’s match and beyond into the September games.

Kenny said he has sought no assurances regarding his immediate future from the association, while he fully expects to be in