Stephen Kenny will be in his element during 18-day window - Stephen Elliott and Gary Rogers

When Stephen Kenny spoke on last Friday's Late Late Show, the Republic of Ireland manager made a point of emphasising just how much time the squad will have together in June.

Four UEFA Nations League fixtures await the Boys in Green against Armenia, Ukraine (twice) and Scotland in the first two weeks of next month.

In between the training period before the first game on 4 June, hectic travel and the games themselves, plenty of time remains to hone the squad further and it harks back to the crucial period last summer when Kenny and his staff were able to recalibrate the side amidst friendlies with Andorra and Hungary which then fed into a more fruitful autumn.

Indeed, if one goes back to Euro 2016, that tournament was the most cohesive the Irish side looked during the Martin O'Neill era quite probably because of the rare opportunity afforded in having the players together for a significant amount of time.

With the squad for the Nations League fixtures - which will all be live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player - set to be named imminently, former Ireland striker Stephen Elliott is excited by the possibilites an 18-day window provides for the Irish coaching staff.

"Managers have certain strengths and certain weaknesses and I think Stephen is looking forward to this," Elliott told this week's edition of the RTÉ Soccer Podcast.

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"I think he embraces having the lads for a long time because like he mentioned (on the Late Late Show) it's very unusual to have players for more than a week in international