Preview: Ireland look to end summer series on the right note

The rollercoaster four-fixture summer series comes to a conclusion tonight in Lodz with Stephen Kenny's side looking to maintain the momentum gained from the impressive victory over Scotland on Saturday.

A disappointing start to the Nations League campaign, no doubt, as Ireland could not convert their dominance into goals in Yerevan, before getting pick-pocketed in Dublin four days later, with a goal from the touchline proving the difference.

Such was the build-up to the campaign, with ambitions of topping the group, and coming off the back of an eight-game unbeaten streak, the general deflation from those two defeats appeared to reset the default factory settings and put the focus firmly back on Kenny and whether he was the right man for the job.

Never a doubt, according to the manager, who backed up his self-belief and trust in the team with the excellent win over Scotland.

Kenny was quick to play it down though, saying that it wasn’t the perfect performance from what he described as "an emerging team", no doubt having the odd nightmare from those fiercely fallible goal-kick routines that just appear to heap pressure on the team for no good reason.

The Scotland performance might be the one that has allowed the manager to enjoy a bit of breathing space coming into the away game against the highest ranked side in the group, however, he will most likely be replaying the first game in Dublin in his mind as he looks to gain revenge from the narrow 1-0 defeat at the Aviva.

A "fluke" goal according to Kenny – the set-piece that beat everyone and hopped past Caoimhin Kelleher into the roof of the net – as the manager rued his side’s misfortune, losing a game without conceding a real chance throughout the match.

Kenny will now be