Heimir Hallgrimsson said he was taking responsibility for the Republic of Ireland's damaging defeat to Armenia in Yerevan and admitted that any hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup look to be longest of shots.
With daunting home and away qualifiers against Portugal still to come in the quickfire campaign, as well as a tough trip to Budapest, this September window was viewed as crucial to Irish hopes.
Coming from two goals down at Aviva Stadium on Saturday to earn a 2-2 draw had given Ireland a point against a Hungary team viewed as the direct contender for a place in the top two in the group.
The ensuing trip to Armenia was deemed as a must-win. However, the Boys in Green came unstuck against the lowest seed on Tuesday, falling to a 2-1 defeat.
It leaves Ireland with the sense that the campaign is over almost as soon as it started and Hallgrimsson admitted as much when speaking to RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue at full time.
"Everything needs to be perfect from now on and after this performance, it's difficult to be optimistic that we will go to Porutgal and win with a performance like we did today," he said.
The manager acknowledged that "almost everything" went wrong across the 90-plus minutes, defensively and in attack, at the Republican Stadium and that Armenia deserved to take all three points.
"A lot more negatives today than positives that's for sure," he added.
"We didn't create a lot of chances. Just the whole team was not on it. It was (Armenia's) day for sure, not ours."
Hallgrimsson moved to put the focus on himself rather than the players' efforts in Yerevan.
"Today, of course, I take the blame for this. Of course, I take the blame for this," he said.
"But the players are the same players we were happy with against Bulgaria, happy with in the second half against Hungary.
"It's the same players. Like I said, off day. What it is, we need to look inside and see what we can do differently."
The Icelandic native is contracted as manager until the end of the qualification campaign and acknowledged that there would be growing scrutiny about his position as a result of the setback.
"Of course, that's the job of the coach. If they're not producing then of course it's always under question and it's understandable now. I'm not naive. That's understandable. After this performance, of course I will take the blame for this," he said.
"The players need support and we need to encourage them. They're going back to the clubs. Hopefully they come back in four weeks' time ready for the next challenge."
A shellshocked Nathan Collins was finding it hard to put his finger on why Ireland were so poor against Armenia #ARMIRL #COYBIG #rtesport pic.twitter.com/jzroRvUJTs
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 9, 2025
That next assignment will come on 11 October in Portugal against the group favourites and a dejected captain Nathan Collins said only three points would suffice.
"We have to beat Portugal, that's the be all and end all. We have to go and get a result and that's all I can say," said the Brentford defender who, like his manager, said Armenia were the better team on the night, although he felt the first-half penalty he conceded was "harsh".
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