Soccer analyst: A dark day. We've had some lows before but, I suppose, this is as low as it's ever been, in every sense imaginable: the scoreline, the opposition, the performance, everything. In many ways, it was an accident waiting to happen - remember, if it wasn't for Shay Given a year ago we would have lost by two or three, or more, to Cyprus - and it really just confirms what we already knew: we won't be qualifying for Euro 2008, we're not even close to being good enough.

It's hard to know what to say about that performance, it's difficult to know where to start, but what struck me most was not just the absence from the team of players of real quality, it was the absence of players of real character, big personalities and leaders who can get a grip of things when it's falling apart, can lift the team, drag them back in to it, encourage them, roar at them, whatever is needed. There wasn't a single player on the pitch capable of filling that leadership role. Can you imagine if Roy Keane or even Mick McCarthy had been out there?

The one player we have now who gives us a voice on the pitch is Shay, he's a good organiser, he's always talking to his defence, keeping them on their toes, that was badly missed on Saturday. You have to have sympathy for Paddy Kenny, he got as little protection in this game as he did against the Dutch, but there was very little communication between him and the back four, no talking at all.

But right through the team there was no one with the personality to stand up and say "let's sort this out ourselves", it just went from bad to worse.

I talked before the game about the Lee Carsley business, and you really can't but talk about it again: Ireland were crying out for a player like him. Those two central midfield positions are the most crucial positions in a team, but the combination of Kevin Kilbane and Stephen Ireland, who had never played together before, was never going to give us what we needed. They gave absolutely no protection to the back four, no anchor to the team, just not good enough. One or the other with a player like Carsley might be fine, but together? No.

As for Damien Duff and Robbie Keane, well, all I can say is that they are extremely fortunate that there are so few options for Steve Staunton, otherwise they'd probably be out of the team. They're playing on their past reputations now, and offering very little any more. It was yet another bad day for both of them.

In a lot of ways we're in the same position now as Scotland were under Bertie Vogts, the lowest point imaginable. At that stage the only way was up, some of their results were awful, but look at them now? And, really, when you look at their team how many players stand out? How many would you choose to have in your side? But what happened with Vogts was that expectations dropped to rock bottom, people became realistic about Scotland's abilities and prospects, and with that comes patience, which is what you need when you're re-building. That's where we are now.

And that's what we need from FAI chief executive John Delaney, he must have a sense of realism. And unless he has a manager in place, ready to step in, who you could be certain would turn things around, he has to stick by Staunton, as he has promised he would. It's the easiest thing in the world to sack the manager, but I'm still of the view it's the quality of players that is the problem, not Steve Staunton. And there's just no point giving a manager a four-year contract and then sacking him after two competitive games.

If any other country produced a performance like that there would be wholesale changes, especially if the game was just four days later. But what changes can Staunton make? We simply don't have the players. Yes, I disagree with him on the Carsley issue, but aside from that he has very, very few options. So it's time just to take a step back, forget about Euro 2008, that's gone. It's time for building blocks, to start again, just slowly build the confidence back up and try to get a few results that will lift everyone. Only then will we be able to put Saturday behind us.