Kerr: Ireland need seven points from crunch games

Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr believes seven points from the remaining matches against Scotland, Germany and Poland will be required for automatic qualification from EURO 2016 Group D.

Shane Long's injury-time goal rescued a point for Ireland against the Poles last night, keeping hopes alive that a top-two finish is possible.

Kerr told RTÉ Sport: "It leaves us in an okay position. What has actually happened now is Gibraltar and Georgia are not taking points off the top four. We're involved in a mini league with Poland, Germany and Scotland to try to get two automatic places and a play-off. It's about the results of the matches with those teams.

"I don't see Georgia and Gibraltar taking a point against any of the top four. We need to pull out a big result as Poland have done already in beating Germany and Scotland have in beating us. We need to pull out one of those big results to get us back into the thing.

"We are definitely still in the hunt [for automatic qualification]. Poland have an edge at the moment. In that mini-league they have won one game and drawn two. They haven't lost any yet.

"Germany will come back into it. Those three critical games with Scotland, Germany and Poland are still to come and if we can get seven points, I think that will get us in as an automatic one."

"I thought the second half last night was the best we have played in any of the games so far"

While Kerr hailed Ireland's second-half display, he expressed concern on the showing in the opening 45 minutes and how the home side utilised set-pieces.

He highlighted the late selection of the team as a possible reason for such incoherent delivery from dead balls.

"There are plenty of concerns," said Kerr, who was in charge of Ireland from 2003 to 2005.

"We haven't really put in a smooth 90-minute performance so far except Gibraltar and I would dismiss that. I thought the second half last night was the best we have played in any of the games so far. The big deal is can we reproduce that in a consistent basis across 90 minutes against Scotland to get us three points.

"We will need to win that match as things are going. Otherwise we will end up playing at home to Germany on 8 October needing a win and going to Poland on 11 October needing a win.

"It is going to be very tough indeed. But there was lots of good thing about the second half and I think the manager got the balance right between the big man up front in [Jon] Walters, giving Robbie Keane someone to play off and the skill and passion around the middle of the field and intensity in the second half.

"Wes Hoolahan had a much bigger influence, as did James McCarthy, and we got the full-backs forward.

"There are other areas, like the set-pieces, where the delivery was poor, and there seemed to be a lot of it off the cuff, which was worrying.

"There was a full week of training and when we got set-piece situations, Robbie Brady was picked and [it was] one of the reasons he was selected to start and there seemed to be no great understanding or anything clever off them. It was as if Robbie Brady and the rest of the team were not in tune.

"He put balls too far ahead of players, over the bar. Then the last one we ended up getting a goal from the corner but it was hardly in the plan that Wes Hoolahan, our smallest player, to head it back to Shane Long to score.

"I think the lateness of the selection of the team is not helping in the set-piece issue as much as anything else."

Panel analysis of Ireland 1-1 Poland

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